tim & cait

Life: Lately

2012-01-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Cecilia made me feel guilty the other day for not blogging, but honestly, it's a bit impossible now that Theodore has discovered the computer and doesn't nap. By the time he goes down in the evenings, I just want to cuddle up on the couch in front of the fire with my lover and watch a movie on Netflix. So, sorry, blog readers, but I will try to be better.

Life is swell, though it's weird to be in the kind of limbo we are in. We are currently waiting on Clementine to make her appearance, wondering if it may be sooner rather than later. I've been having pretty consistent Braxton-Hicks practice pressure waves and yesterday at Church I was feeling so much pressure I had to spread my legs in order to sit comfortably. I can't tell if this is normal, but my midwives tell me not to worry, so I'm trying not to. I'm officially around 32 weeks, and time seems to be both flying by and passing by in slow motion. Pregnancy is trippy like that.

We are also planning a move sometime in the near future back in with my parents. We've been a little less frugal than usual with our money, and with my job not giving me as many hours as I need, paying our rent over the summer seems superfluous when Tim will be done with school and nothing will be keeping us in Provo. My very generous parents have offered to let us stay with them for the summer rent-free, so we'll probably take them up on it unless something drastic changes. Not really looking forward to sharing a bathroom with my siblings, but it will be nice to have actual savings for when we start grad school in the fall. We also are selling everything (including our car) except what we can carry in suitcases on the airplane. Daunting task to reduce your life with two children down to six suitcases. Now comes the equally daunting task of finding Tim a summer job... anyone in Columbia have any suggestions?

Speaking of Theodore and the computer (refer back to first paragraph), he has mad skills. He can get on, open Google Chrome, and go to PBS Kids to find his games with absolutely no help from us. It's awesome and maddening at the same time, we have started to leave the computer chair upside down on the bed when we are down because otherwise he will climb up, grab the keyboard and mouse from our high-up hiding place, and go to town. As much as I love his ingenuity and independence, I also hate being the mean mommy who takes away the computer from him after a few minutes because he got on while I ran downstairs to throw the laundry in. He is limited to less than an hour a day of iPad and computer time, but it's been really hard to keep him entertained with the recent bout of nasty weather (rain, sleet, hale, snow.... in that order). He has recently discovered Thomas the Train and cannot get enough. I took him to Toys 'r Us a few weeks ago because we had a coupon and he played for THREE straight hours with their giant Thomas the Train table and tracks and tunnels and the whole she-bang. Then I looked at the price tags of the individual items... and geez. That stuff is pricey. Tim and I found this ad on Craigslist, but who has $350 to spend on their toddler's train addiction?! Even if it is an incredible deal. I guess it could be his Christmas/birthday/Christmas presents for a few years....

When he's not playing computer or with trains or with Annabelle, he is constantly counting (he starts at 2 and always ends at 9, but it's pretty dang cute!), reading (getting better at sounding out words and loves finishing your sentence when you are reading a book) and requesting the ABC song over and over again. He also just recently started his love for books on tape, though they are usually Tim's books because he will listen to them while they are playing in order to multi-task with schoolwork/dad work, but we plan on finding some kid-friendly books next time we hop over to our local library for story time. Tim loooooves books on tape, and wants nothing more than to instill that love in our children.

Hope this long update satisfied your voyeuristic tendencies. No pictures though. One day I'll post a pregnant picture, I think it's a little pathetic that I've only taken one a trimester. Poor Clementine, already a neglected second child.

Some missed events

2012-01-07T21:15:00.002-07:00

We missed a few events that we remembered when we uploaded photos from our lesser used camera, so here they are. In mid-September, my friend Matt and I ran in a local 10k. It was my first race in my new 5fingers, which were and are great (they barely escaped being returned to REI when we found cheaper pairs later). I took 1st and he 2nd, but that was only out of 6 or 7. It also marked the end of serious running for me last year. I did not run with Theo, but Cait brought him after the race finished.

In sadder news, I let Theo burn his hands on the stove. I turned away from him standing on a stool near the stove where he was helping me cook eggs. I had turned off the burner but it was still hot. He slipped and caught himself on the burner with both hands. He cried some, but not too much, and had to have them bandaged for a few days, but he seems no worse for the wear. Also, this picture marks Theo's transition in interest from the Ipad to the Desktop Mac. He's gotten really good with the mouse and navigating to PBS kids as long as we turn the secondary click off. Sorry, no pictures of the unwrapped burned hands, not an opportunity I will regret missing.

Christmas in Pictures: Boxing Day Brunch

2012-01-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

The day after Christmas, we invited some of our wonderful friends over for a Boxing Day Brunch of crepes with all the fillings. Nutella, fruit, jam, fancy cheese, real whipped cream: you name it. They were delicious, our friends are awesome, and Alice and Theo were in love... with the Nutella crepes. I think my favorite part was when the two Beatty boys found our Star Wars books. They were smitten. Tim is hoping that is our future.

Harrison and me, strangely coordinated in our outfits

Crepes, Julia Child-style. SO EASY.

Ben and Athena

Beattys plus Tallia

Jon, Harrison, and fireplace

Cutest, fattest baby ever

Crepes!

Christmas in Pictures: Christmas Eve/Day

2012-01-02T17:00:00.003-07:00

Tim worked most of the day on Christmas Eve, joining us back home that evening for clam chowder (great recipe, but I accidentally bought FAT-FREE half and half.... bleh, bleh), homemade rolls, a homemade fire in the fireplace, and lots of Christmas movies on the iPad. Theodore fell asleep during A Christmas Carol: Jim Carrey style. For some reason, he refused to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol, which I was rooting for. Oh well.

We woke up entirely too early.... even if kids aren't getting anything, I think they just KNOW. Theo was way too grumpy to go to Church at 9, I think he knew that he was supposed to get presents and didn't get any. Oh well, he was cheerful again by 10:30 so we meandered over to the local Episcopal church. Silly, they didn't have a nursery on Christmas Day, so we only lasted about 30 minutes into the service before heading to another local LDS ward where it was OK that you had a kid with you making lots of cute sounds.

Our presents were meager, but appreciated. My parents sent us money and an Olive Garden gift card, Casey and Melissa came through as usual with handmade mittens for me, a tool kit for Tim, and an iTunes gift card for Theo. We celebrated by buying him a new Winnie-the-Pooh app. After Church, the babe was tired, so we wrapped him up in the Sleepy Wrap like old times (thought he would hate it, but he loved it still) and walked around the neighborhood. I took a nice long nap with him and woke up to cook Christmas dinner (chicken, stuffing, sweet potatoes) and Skype with Tim's family. We finished the day by lounging in front of the fire, again.

Homemade wrapping paper

Back massager, that we ended up taking back because it was cheap

Tool kit from Casey and Melissa

I was so excited about Tim's gift, a wool plaid fedora. Alas, too small.

Theo didn't get anything, but liked Dad's tool kit

Sleepy wrapped -- went to sleep before we hit the next block on our gorgeous, sunny Christmas Day

He looooooooves the fireplace

Tim's idyllic Christmas

Theo's idyllic Christmas

Happy holidays everyone!

Reading

2011-12-30T12:25:00.001-07:00

Recent studies have shown that the greatest indication of a child's success and love for reading stems from a reading father. Well, if anyone knows how much Tim reads (he is pretty much reading 90% of his waking hours, whether it be on his Kindle as they walk around outside or listening to books on tape as he cleans) we should assume that our kids too will share the love of reading. I didn't anticipate my two-year-old would develop the obsession so early in life. Not only does he love being read to, he's started to embark on reading on his own. So far, the only word he can sound out and recognize is "ball" (with the occasional "mom" and "dad"), and now he thinks that every word is "ball", but he is getting so impressive at sounding out letters. Thank you, Super Why! and Elmo's ABCs app. And lots of patient reading with us really awesome parents.

Here are some recent videos:

He thinks the "U" I wrote is a "V", I didn't realize that until Tim pointed it out to me today.

Clementine

2011-12-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

Part of me feels really guilty for not documenting this pregnancy here like I did with Theodore, but then I feel even guiltier because I forget a lot of times that I am actually pregnant. Especially during the day when I am going about my merry way, I feel pretty dang good and it's easy to not think about. At night with all her crazy ninja moves, I definitely remember then. She moves like crazy, way more than Theodore did in the womb. She is rolling and twisting and dancing for hours on end. I love it. Tim says he forgets I'm pregnant too, but I don't know how with all my "oh my aching back/hips/head" complaints when I wake up in the morning. Besides the tiniest box of baby girl clothes I got at a free clothing exchange and the bright orange car seat in the basement, there is little physical indication (you know, besides the large belly) that another baby is on the way. I do think I have already been nesting more than usual because my energy levels are way up, and I find myself wanting to clean up in preparation, and then remember everything is going to get very dirty again in the three months remaining. I'm officially in my third trimester. I think. I'm like 26-29 weeks now, depending on if you ask my midwife or babycenter.com or the Sprout pregnancy app on our iPad. We had another ultrasound last week to check out her brain because they couldn't get a good look at 20 weeks, and we verified she is very much a girl.

Speaking of prenatal appointments, I'm on an every 6-7 week schedule. Since everything is going dandy, I always have had healthy blood pressures, urine samples, and tons of fetal movement, I don't see the need to go monthly. Plus, it is quite the challenge to find a time to drive up to American Fork, and I prefer just popping in after work every so often for a little pee sample and blood pressure. I usually just see the midwife for about 5 minutes, even though I know I can spend as long as I want, but there isn't much to discuss when you are a very prepared birther and having a healthy pregnancy. I still have frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions [ahem, pressure sensations] but I was checked a few weeks back and am not dilated at all, so hopefully things will continue to be so. I started using my Hypnobabies tracks to work on relaxation and hypnosis for birthing. They are a little hokey, but I like her voice and they ARE relaxing. We'll see if I like her voice when I'm actually laboring...

Not much else to say about Clementine other than she is a stellar fetus and I hope she has red hair. But if not, we'll still love her. Heaven knows we are crazy about that Theo kid.

[oh: we don't know if her name will really be Clementine, everyone has been asking me that... we have a list but have not decided either which way]

Christmas in Pictures: Lights at Temple Square

2011-12-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

We decided to brave the freeway on the 23rd of December. Bad plan. Theodore loved the lights... but probably loved riding the Trax even more.

Christmas in Pictures: Gingerbread House

2011-12-26T10:43:00.001-07:00

In my first few posts in a long time, we'll look at some pictures from Christmas. First we will look at our construction of a gingerbread house. We bought a pre-baked one from Target, because we weren't up for baking our own gingerbread. Maybe we will when Theo will appreciate it more.

Theo loved putting on the candy pieces.

But mostly he just liked eating them.

Learning from the master decorator.

Why yes, I want to get a PhD in Political Science

2011-12-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears

2011-12-15T09:37:00.001-07:00

Why, on EARTH, have grocery stores been playing so many Britney Spears songs lately?! I thought she was long gone and dead and over...

In other news, I think I've composed about 20 blog posts in my head over the past month and every time I find the time to sit down and blog I can't think of what any of them are. But I do have some thoughts on Christmas I would like to share:

Tim has convinced me that Santa Claus does not exist in our home. I am utterly flabbergasted as to what implications this will have in our future. I can totally see the reasoning, but at the same time, I definitely have very fond memories of Santa Claus and don't think I was emotionally harmed. He is a tad creepy though, and I hate the bribery and manipulation of "you have to be good or Santa won't come" and the fact that Santa obviously likes rich kids better than poor kids. I'm tempted by the babushka tradition instead. Still magical, but she comes to houses where she hears children laughing, not necessarily behaving and following their parents' commands. I read it in our Christmas book about different cultures. Don't know if it's actually practiced in Russia, but I still like the story, and how it relates to the Savior.

Also, he doesn't think we should give our kids presents. One, because he's worked at Target one too many holiday seasons and he hates nothing more than when parents come in and HAVE TO HAVE A CERTAIN COMMERCIALIZED TOY and it's ALL HIS FAULT Target does not have it. And all of a sudden their Christmas, along with their child's, is completely ruined because they didn't get that one dumb toy that would probably only be played with for a month and then thrown into the back of the closet and given to DI by the next Christmas. I completely agree with this. And have you seen the hot new toys of the year!? When Tim came home and told me people were looking for a game called "Doggie Doo" I thought he was surely joking. One way I've considered avoiding this is not allowing TV in our house. It's from commercials that kids think they want these things, right? Tim thinks they will still want them because other kids will want them, but then I reminded him our children's friends will be elitist hippies who also don't watch TV and play with wooden block sets and homemade finger paints.

Secondly, I love my mom. I really love my mom you guys. But she has this thing about buying so many unnecessary presents. And then I get all these things I didn't want in the first place, and then I have to deal with the guilt of returning everything and she just goes on this "you are SO ungrateful" tirade, and then I feel all bad about making her feel bad and then Christmas is forever tainted. This has actually vastly improved in years past, probably due to some combination of my maturing and not being so angsty and her getting better at not buying me a bazillion things I don't need. And this Christmas, it seems we may have reached our acceptedness in the non-presents department. We'll see how it pans out...

Next: spending Christmas at home with just our family. When I told my mom this yesterday, she said it made her sad for me. I don't know why she would be sad about it, when quite frankly, I am very excited to have our first Christmas as just our family. Rather than shopping and present-buying and gift-opening, we've been making batch after batch of delicious Christmas cookies, listening to delightful music, and reading lots of Christmas books. Honestly, the kid is not going to care either way if he gets to open presents on Christmas morning but he will love making a gingerbread house. Plus, I hate wrapping presents. I hate excess stuff. He doesn't even play with the toys he has (exceptions: his train set, play kitchen, and football). He'd rather draw on an empty car seat box with markers all afternoon or read library books. No need for fancy contraptions to keep this child occupied. Even though when we do go to Target, he does love to go down the aisle and press the buttons on all the electronic toys to create quite the cacophony and fake music and voices "A is for APPLE! B is for BALL!"

So, am I scrooge and ruining Christmas for everyone yet? Well, I do have a few good traditions I want to implement, not just shunning the old ones. I really like the idea of three gifts per person: something to read, something to wear, something to play with. And I'd like to buy all three locally/handmade. If not local, there are always a million darling handmade items on Etsy that I covet. If I'm going to spend money, I'd rather support a small business or individual rather than Wal-mart and Mattel. I'd rather spend the same amount of money on three really awesome quality items than 10 cheaply manufactured toys. It seems quantity is what most people shoot for, so their kids can have 20 presents to open on Christmas morning.Which is really fun, to be perfectly honest, but is it necessary?

This week

2011-12-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a week: finals, stomach virus, baby born, lactation class due, applications due, Christmas parties, etc. It's Friday and I'm still reeling for the events of this week. On Monday night we had Valerie Hudson's farewell/Christmas party. It was a bittersweet moment for all of us, to see the lives that she has changed here and to know the amazing things she will do in the future. We had a great time, and Tim and I WON. CHRONOLOGY. That is a really, really big deal.


Hello, Theodore! (this is the few of us that were left, there were A LOT of people there)

Then on Tuesday we received a phone call from Casey and Melissa that they were throwing up all night. Knowing that Theodore spent the morning with them while I was at work, I was incredibly nervous that night. Lo and behold, around 10 pm, I started throwing up. And throwing up. And throwing up. Bleh, bleh, bleh. I didn't sleep all night and it was miserable. Stomach virus + pregnancy = MISERY. Finally, around 8 am I could not stand up because I was so weak, dehydrated, and tired so we headed over to UVRMC for some fluids and Zofran. It took the nurse multiple attempts to get an IV in because I was so dehydrated, when I usually have awesome veins and it's really easy. Four hours later, we were home and sleeping. The next day I was still so sore and miserable, but SO much better.

Back up to early Tuesday morning, circa 4 am. I was lying awake miserable when I heard a faint scream-like sound. I jumped up to investigate and grab my phone, because we have a scary alleyway next to our house and I thought someone was being abducted or mugged or something. I go to find my phone and look outside to find ambulances, fire truck, and multiple police cars (?!). I go on the front porch and realize a hoard of burly firefighters/paramedics are coming to my house... for a moment I'm confused and then DUH, it hits me. Baby being born, in the basement. Sure enough, I go back inside and hear additional screaming and about 15 minutes later, Jennifer is wheeled out on a stretcher with her new little girl. It was pretty nuts.

Fast forward to Thursday night: first, we had a Christmas party for PEIP, Theodore's speech therapy program. It was well-organized but there were a million people there. We mostly just let him play and do crafts, and stayed for about an hour before we headed to the Nielson home for dinner and Tim's oral final/discussion for is Political Science class. Theodore and I wandered the house and played with Rob, the Nielsons' adolescent son (who was so cool, and Theodore LOVED... he has grown up so much since he was the crazy 9-yr-old running around at ward activities four years ago...). He had some pretty intense Lego creations which were pretty awesome to a 2-yr-old boy.

Coloring at dinner at the PEIP party

Not excited to meet Santa

Sensory room

Theodore loves Rob

Browning men + Nielson men

Now, Tim is working. And I'm finishing my lactation course. Learning about NG tubes and kernicterus. Thinking about going to the Beehive Bazaar. Not sure if I want to take the kid to it though...

Being a mother, in my own way

2011-12-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

You know those times in Sunday School where you just need to say something but then the moment passes and you don't say it so you have to come home and blog about it?

Maybe not, but I do.

Tim and I have been attending the "Marriage and Parenting" class at Church. Mistake numero uno. The only reason I went today is because the nursery is really close to it, and Theodore has been having a hard time the past few weeks when we leave, so I was nervous he would freak out, and we can hear the kids crying from our room so I would know and be able to go get him (I'm not really into letting him cry for silly reasons...) Anywho. If last week's lesson on fatherhood was frustrating ("how do we support our husbands as fathers?" "make sure the house is clean and SMELLS GOOD when they get home... even if you had a bad day, touch up your make-up and greet him with a smile, make him want to come home because he's been working SO HARD ALL DAY"), this week's lesson on motherhood was slightly upsetting. I love the teacher. She is actually a beautiful person, my best visiting teacher ever, and just as sweet and friendly as can be. And I actually agreed with a lot, partially. Mothers are irreplaceable and awesome and love their children unconditionally. But then came to the part about working.

Here's how it went: Some mothers have to work to support their families, and we feel awful for them and they do the best we can. But some moms also work so their families can live in big houses and drive fancy cars... and they really need to sort out their priorities and make sacrifices to stay at home with their children.

Uhhhh... what about the moms that love their jobs and work because they want to? Heaven forbid we should want to work outside the home, though, right? I certainly don't have to work, and I certainly don't work to have a big house and fancy car. I'm choosing to work because I genuinely enjoy it. I enjoy my kid too, but in a different way. I like my job a lot. And I feel a strong pull to go back to school and have prayed about it and it feels like the thing I'm really supposed to do. So, why not address that aspect?

Valerie Hudson gave her final lecture last Wednesday. She said something that really hit me. I've heard it before from her, but it never struck me in such a way. She told of how there were many nights when she fell to her knees and cried to God that she was done, she wanted to be home with her children (she had eight!) and not be a professor anymore. And each time, she received the same confirmation that God needed her in our classrooms at BYU. I know she has had so much influence for good at BYU, and her legacy and teachings will extend through the generations. She taught me what it was like to be a strong, independent woman and to speak my mind. That it's ok to be really smart. That women and mothers matter more than I realized (and that childbirth could be natural and breastfeeding a 2-yr-old is not as weird as our society makes it out to be...) She has influenced my ideas and helped me become the woman, wife, and mother I want to be. How grateful am I that she listened to God during those hard times when she was exhausted and over-stretched.... how grateful am I that her husband is supportive of her career and a wonderful father and husband. Her kids were not neglected in any way, they always had a loving and involved parent around. Just like my children will have. And maybe at some points it will be their dad, and maybe at some points it will be their mom. And they'll be ok.

Life. Mostly, breastfeeding.

2011-11-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

Time is flying as we are right smack-dab in the midst of school and work for Tim, work for me, applications for me, and oh yeah, that Lactation class I signed up for in September thinking I'd have time to do it. And oh yeah, it's due in like a week and a half. Good thing I'm mostly done, and I have lots of time at work when I'm in American Fork because no one needs help with breastfeeding in North Utah County. I'm learning so much though... if I thought I knew about breastfeeding before, wow, do I know a lot now. It's the class you take to become an IBCLC, so it's really thorough, and some of the assignments and tests are fairly challenging. The lectures are phenomenal. The professor is hilarious, and having worked in the field for decades, has so many great breastfeeding stories. I'm in the section on jaundice right now, and holy cow, do we get SO much misinformation on jaundice in the hospital from the doctors and nurses! Geez. I have moms come in ALL the time in tears because they are having trouble getting their babies to nurse because of getting bottles in the hospital because of "jaundice" and needing to supplement. Or wait, also there are like a bazillion reasons doctors and mother-baby nurses push supplementing in the hospital... and most of them are completely bogus. But, you probably don't care, so moving on to the next item of business.

Theodore: holy cow, he is growing up like crazy these days. He is starting to talk up a storm, though we are still worried about his hearing because he pronounces things crazy and most everything sounds the same, though we know what he means. His favorite words are: iPad, Pooh, Elmo (mel-mo), off/on, dad, apple, banana (nan-a), snow, owl, and of course, ball. He can identify every letter in the alphabet, and knows the sounds for well over half. He's even starting to sound out words when he watches Super Why, which is pretty impressive in my book. I think he may be reading before he talks in sentences. He is sleeping really well at night as long as one of us is with him, which we don't mind. And he still nurses 1-2 times a day, which I'm contributing to the fact that he has not had a single cold yet to date this season! Such an improvement over last year....

As for me, my applications are almost completely done and submitted. I've applied to five schools, and am wondering if should apply to more to be on the safe side, but I'm so burned out and running out of time that I don't know if I'll end up doing any more. Thusfar, Yale, Michigan, Wisconsin and Rutgers are done and submitted, and Urbana-Champaign is still in the works. I'm ready for it to be over with, all the application fees to be paid so I don't have to worry about it anymore, and at least one acceptance to be in the mail :) But.... only time shall tell. Hopefully the admissions committees don't hate mothers and babies because I wrote about having a kid in my personal statement. I was told it could either hurt or help the application, depending on who reads it. But, do I really want to go to a school that discriminates against mothers?

Doing a puzzle over Thanksgiving with Tim's dad and sister

Helping mom clean while wearing dad's hat and glove

Day after Thanksgiving was spent at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden

Serendipity

2011-11-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today was kind of awesome*. We accidentally left our bag of chicken at Target when we were shopping, and I was really bummed about having to drive all the way back to get it. On the way home, however, I decided to drop in to that overpriced baby box store known as Babies 'r Us. I have never bought anything at this place, I just wanted to see if they had the Britax infant seat so I could see just how big it really was and if it would fit in the back of our Civic. Well, they didn't have it, so I was leaving, when I spotted a lone Combi Coccoro box sitting in the aisle. Sweet, I wanted to check these out for a long time and no other store has them, I thought. I asked if they carried it, and they said no, it was just an online return. I asked her to price check... not that I would buy it at overpriced baby box store when I figured it would be a lot less on Amazon. To my amazement, it was $75!! I could not believe it. Apparently they were just wanting to get rid of it since they don't carry it in the store. Same car seat online at same store is $199.99.

Thus ends the epic car seat showdown. No infant seat after all, just a beautiful, carrot-colored Coccoro.

And you know what? I don't care if I am obsessed with car seats. In less than a year I'll be at a top 10 university (hopefully) getting a PhD. So, I get to obsess over trivial matters for the time being.

And then to top it off, I used two coupons and bought some new cloth diapers and a changing pad and wet bag for a really good deal. Happy birthday to me!

*another great thing about today: I got my GRE scores in the mail today and scored 97th percentile on verbal and 84th on math and 96th on analytical writing... woohoo!

Single motherhood

2011-11-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

No, Tim didn't leave me. But he did start working this week at Target, and has been gone pretty much all afternoon, evening, and night. I'm working mornings, then he leaves as soon as I get home and doesn't get back until we are fast asleep. It's weird being the one holding down the fort solely, and I thought it'd be a lot harder than it has been. Mind you, my child is fairly easy-going and still takes long afternoon naps (though goes to bed fairly late... 10 or 11). I thought I wouldn't be able to handle doing the nightly routine alone after being so spoiled by our arrangement the past year, but really, it has not been difficult, and I'm feeling more and more confident in my ability to be a mother to two. Theodore and I have been watching a documentary on dinosaurs by the BBC the past few nights for half an hour each night, and we just lay in bed, cuddle, and have a midnight snack of cereal and yogurt. Knowing that I have to do everything has actually helped me get everything done.... the dishes get done, the teeth get brushed, the child gets to bed without a fuss. Our evenings used to get kind of chaotic as we negotiated who does what, and sometimes things got neglected.

I know I still have it pretty dang easy. One child, husband who is home in the mornings with him, two great jobs that we both enjoy, lovely house to live in, and knowing this arrangement will only be for a few months. But having my life be a little harder than before has been kind of nice, and now I feel like I can relate a little to my friends whose husbands are working nights or long hours. I used to think "how can they do that?!" but now I see how. With a lot of coloring books, play-doh (and by play-doh, I mean bread dough....), late night walks, and dinosaur documentaries.... that's how we're thriving around these parts.

My baby wish list

2011-11-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

We didn't really buy a lot of "stuff" for Theodore. Besides being financially insecure (which we still are.... sigh), I kind of wanted to shun the "you have a baby, you need ALL THIS JUNK!" mentality. We went through a few things to test them out (a crib, a swing, a travel system) but mostly I just bought them for really cheap on KSL and then sold them for more (actually, working on selling the crib still, anyone interested? It's super cute). We would keep it, but will probably be moving in Clementine's first few months, and definitely before she's ready for the crib (read: I'm ready to not cuddle my precious newborn all night long). Co-sleeping had it's upsides and downsides, but overall, I'm ready and more than willing to do it again. Theodore is a happy, well-adjusted, securely-attached and incredibly outgoing and confident child. Not sure where the co-sleeping fits into the causes, but if it did at all, it was worth it. However, we WILL be buying a king-sized mattress for our next "bed." I have the feeling there will be some nights where all four of us will end up together...

On to my wish list though. There are not many things, but after getting all experienced with the first kid, I have a really good idea of what I will definitely be purchasing once we settle down:

1) Changing table: one thing I considered completely unnecessary with my first baby. Who actually uses a changing table?! But with cloth-diapering and then a squirmy toddler, I realized how much I yearned for one. You see, with cloth-diapering, there is so much stuff to keep up with. Pre-folds, inserts, covers, spray, wipes, creams, pins, Snappis.... etc. For a while, we had a basket and then a drawer dedicated to all the materials, but it would have been nice to have it all in one accessible location and go there to change every time. I love the pockets on this one from Ikea. But let's be honest, unless I could find it used, I'm sure I'll end up with an old, cheaper wooden one. Which would be grand by me.

Photo: Ikea

2) Didymos Wrap: ok, I like wearing my baby. That has been established. However, once Theodore hit about 18 pounds, it became pretty unbearable for my back. The Sleepy Wrap and Moby Wraps were just too bouncy and not supportive enough (LOVED them for the newborn stage though). I never have liked the buckles and everything on an Ergo and Boba. These are SO gorgeous and SO expensive. Sigh.... (ps: did just find one on KSL for $75 in this color below.... tempting....)

Photo: Amazon

3) Car Seat: So, kind of a generic want, but also an essential one. I really, really love the Combi Coccoro still, and they are re-doing it with those freaking awesome Britax-like LATCH connectors which seriously rock my car seat installing world. I would totally opt for another Britax Roundabout, but those things are so ginormous, there is no way I could a) fit two side-by-side, or b) rear-face it by the door. By the way, we turned Theodore around last week. He is now a veritable forward-facing toddler. I was really sad, but he was getting very uncomfortable and his head was inching closer to the top of the shell. I'm all for extended rear-facing, but I don't get how some of these car seat advocates have their four-year-olds rear-facing! Maybe it's our car...?

Back to car seat needs: Love the Combi. Will probably get it in the future. I didn't really see the need for an infant seat with Theodore and he was in a convertible after a few months (because I hated, hated, hated our cheap Graco infant seat that I could never get installed correctly, bounced all over the place and just sucked in general). BUT, that being said... I'm kind of wanting to invest in a nice infant seat, especially since I know I have small babies and we could use it for one year plus some. I never keep my baby in the infant seat outside of the car, but I remember a few times when it was ridiculously cold, it was super nice to have him all bundled up underneath that car seat cover-up thing before we head out to the car. And seeing as how one of the places we may live next year includes Wisconsin (or Connecticut or New Jersey), we may be in for a very, very cold winter. So, do I want to spend the extra money (well, technically my parents are buying us a car seat for Christmas, but if I buy the infant seat, I'll have to replace it in 18 months or so...) and get the infant seat even if I could only use it for a year because maybe I'll be living somewhere very cold? Oh, the car seat dilemmas in my life. Why, oh why, do I worry so much about them? Anyways.... that being said.... if I did buy an infant seat, I'd probably go with the Chicco KeyFit or Britax Chaperone. In fact, it would either be the Britax Chaperone in Cowmooflage or the Chicco KeyFit in Limonata because of this study here on toxicity of car seats (darn you, Maren, for giving me another thing to obsess over!) Now, not only do I have to consider the safety of the car seat and the quality, I have to figure out which COLOR is less toxic (even though I was pleasantly surprised the Cowmooflage was least toxic... everyone knows I love a cow-print car seat).

So yeah, three things we'll be buying for this little girl (or probably not buying, but wanting to have). Luckily, we already have a full six-month wardrobe courtesy of my good instincts and an on-campus clothing exchange with tons of baby girl stuff. So, we won't need to be buying any clothes, though I did pick out a few adorable BabyGap outfits for a dollar each at DI the other day.

Halloween

2011-11-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

We went trick-or-treating. Theodore was crazy about it. He was really awesome at first, saying thank you and please and taking one piece of candy when prompted. We knew it was time to quit when he shoved his hand in, grabbed a handful, turned around and ran.

(I know this is upside down...)

My impeccable maternal sex-determining instincts

2011-11-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Clementine is indeed a Clementine.

Um, how freakishly cute is that little Tigger?

We went camping last weekend in AF Canyon. It was cold... very, very cold but also very enjoyable. That is Mt. Timpanogos in the background.

Food times

2011-11-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned I love fall? I think I have. One of my favorite factors about fall is the cooking. Cooking in the summer is pretty lame. Especially if you lack air conditioning. Who wants to slave over a hot stove and create a hot meal when it's hot outside? I, for one, do not. But, as soon as the weather cools (and the pregnancy nausea subsides, in our case this year), it's back to the kitchen for me. I'm not terribly domestic and HATE most housework with a passion, but I love to cook. And I like to think I'm quite good at it.

One of the greatest foods of fall is the butternut squash. I don't think I ever ate butternut squash until I was married. Maybe when I was single and in college, but why did my mother never utilize this versatile and wonderfully delicious vegetable?! Mmmm... butternut squash soup, butternut squash ravioli, and last night was Maren's recipe for butternut squash mac and cheese. Served alongside pumpkin chocolate muffins.... and grilled chicken and peas.

I also have to share my mom's Brunswick Stew recipe. Guys, seriously, make this. It is absolutely to die for. Maybe I just think so because it's my mom's recipe. I don't know. To me, it is heaven in a bowl.

Step 1: Boil chicken breasts (1-2, depending on how much chicken you like) in chicken broth and some water until cooked, tender, and falling apart. I actually used leftover crockpot rotisserie chicken from the days before and boiled the carcass for a few hours to make broth. It worked well. My mom thinks cooking whole chickens is gross. So yeah, proportions for chicken broth to water I don't know exactly, but maybe 2 cups of broth to 1 cup of water?

Step 2: Next, add -
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can condensed tomato soup
About 2 medium potatoes, diced into good-sized chunks
About 3 carrots, cut into chunks

Step 3: Cook for.... 20 minutes? 30 minutes? Just simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender-like. Then add about 1/2-3/4 bag of frozen baby lima beans and a good bit of frozen corn (2 cups). Cook for 10-ish more minutes.

Step 4: Add one whole stick of real butter (if you are watching your figure, 1/2 stick would probably do, but don't skip it entirely!). Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy with a large hunk of homemade bread. This is crucial.

Yum.

REI Garage Sale

2011-10-30T10:51:00.002-06:00

We love REI around here. Yes, it's pricey, but if you use coupons you can get killer deals, and if you buy full-price and are a member, you get a rebate at the end of the year of about 10%. Not to mention, nothing can beat their return policy! You can return anything, anytime, for any reason. You buy a pair of boots, wear them for five years, and decide they didn't last long enough? You can return it. Buy a tent, use it a season and the poles break (like ours did this year... unfortunately it was from Target)? Return it. You are paying slightly higher prices, but for such an amazing warranty it is worth it in our opinion.

Which brings us to: the REI Garage Sale. I went yesterday with my friend Austin sans husband and child, and we got some pretty amazing stuff for insane prices.

Exhibit A:

REI Siesta 35 Double Sleeping Bag

$66. It had been used ONCE. And whoever bought it decided it wasn't warm enough and returned it. We even went on a spontaneous camping trip with our new-ish Hobitat 4 tent last night. The sleeping bag was very, very warm. Not quite big enough for the three of us, so I ended up sleeping on my own in our single sleeping bag. The tent was huge, so much bigger than we were expecting, but really comfortable compared to our old Coleman tent. We paid about $130 for it a few months ago during a sale. With four of us who will be camping next year, we not needed a new tent out of necessity since our old one broke, but also for more space. It's harder to put up and requires two people, but there are few larger tents that are easy to put up.

Exhibit B:

Sorel Winter Boots

$6. No joke, they were that much. They are used, the bottoms are a little worn out, but still have a ton of life left.

Exhibit C, D, and E:

Five Fingers

All of these were in great condition, mine had been worn once! I paid about $20-25 for each pair. I thought they would be $50, so I originally only bought Tim one pair. But because we had been there so long (Austin and I were there for three hours), they had dropped all of the shoes by 50%. So, they were half-price. Awesome. I'm only bummed that I didn't buy the Dansko clogs I had grabbed earlier. I didn't want to spend $50 on them, but would have gladly paid $25. Oh well. Tim wears his Vibrams pretty much exclusively now for running, which he does every day. I'm going to wear mine for hiking and aerobics and just walking around outside with Theodore. I usually wear Tom's or my Simple shoes for walking and playing outside, but they are getting worn out really fast, so I'll save those for fancier occasions like work and church.

Exhibit F:

Deuter Kid Comfort II

We have been looking for a more comfortable pack for hiking with. Theodore loves being in Casey's backpack when we borrow it because it is a lot more comfortable than our Kelty one, and we wanted something that wouldn't hurt Tim's back. It holds a lot, is lightweight, incredibly adjustable, and we paid about $100 for it. Not bad...

I also bought Tim some warm long underwear for camping and running but I didn't feel the need to put those on here (they were only $4, ps). Austin got some pretty amazing stuff too, like a gorgeous down sleeping bag, more Five Fingers, a wet suit (for surfing in Seattle), and a sleeping pad. She also tried out her new gear with us last night (except the wet suit). She was extremely happy about her purchases as well. I really was looking for a nice warm coat for the winter (they didn't have much in terms of coats), but with the purchases at the garage sale we received a $20 coupon to REI, so I'll use that at the outlet to get a good price on a nice soft shell or down jacket. I was hesitant to go the Garage Sale because the last one was way overcrowded and we didn't find much, but was so happy I went to this one. We used the money from the sales of our bed and couch to fund our purchases. I would say it was a good decision :) Especially now that Tim has a new job... more on that later...

Disturbing Parenting

2011-10-29T10:10:00.004-06:00

At the library the other day, there was a dad who had brought his daughter to story time (we also brought Theo and took some good pictures which will go up on his blog). The girl did not want to go to story time and just wanted to play on the toy computers there for the kids instead. The dad, who apparently thought it was vital that his daughter go to story time, threatened her with really horrific acts of violence if she didn't go back. No joke, no sarcasm. It was super disturbing. I wont quote him, but it was graphic and bloody. Listening to it made me and everyone else around uncomfortable, although it didn't seem to phase the girl.

What do you do in those situations? Cait wanted to go to a librarian, but by the time she found an opportunity, the guy was gone. I wanted to confront him, but I'm always hesitant with confrontation and I wasn't sure it would do any good, probably just make him madder. Has anyone been in a similar situation and what did/would you do?

Yes, yes, we still exist

2011-10-28T13:37:00.000-06:00

Life continues to be oh-so-blissful.... most of the time. Except when I have minor breakdowns of swearing in the morning when it's 7 am, I'm leaving for work, and I spill a large container of mashed turnips and peas on the kitchen floor. That sucked.

But.... I love fall. Love it. The anticipation. The holidays. The crunchy leaves, the cooling weather, the gorgeous hiking. It's been a good fall. I love busting out the large pot and cooking up batch after batch of veggie soup, bean soup, chicken noodle soup, lentil soup, creamy soups, while a fresh loaf of bread is rising in the oven. Mmmmm. I love the sweet potatoes and the turnips and the butternut squash and the apples.

I love knowing that each passing season brings us just a little closer to our next lifetime love. The more Theodore grows and learns and becomes independent, the more my maternal longing for a snuggly and sweet-smelling newborn increases.

Speaking of a fetus, this one is feisty. I'm convinced it is a girl, so until proven otherwise, she is a she. And she is awesome. She definitely has made her presence known for a while now. I felt movement at 15 weeks.... which is like two whole months earlier than with Theodore. I wasn't convinced at first because it just seemed way too soon, but alas. Move she has. Tim even felt a few good jabs this morning during a documentary on Islam that we watched in Theodore's bed while waiting for him to wake up in ours (we still are playing musical beds around here, you never know where you will end up! make life exciting). I'm kind of ashamed that I have not documented this little fetus like I did with the last, but I figure it is the sad, true story of subsequent children. There is just little time. In fact, just as I typed that, Theodore came up to me wanting help on his iPad game I thought would entertain for the ten minutes I needed to write this post. Ahhhh, distraction.

As for my own personal exciting life, I took the GRE on Wednesday, did incredibly well, and am now looking forward to finishing up my personal statements and submitting my applications. All that's left as letters of recommendation, which I have already asked my three dear professors for, and my work there is done. Deadlines are in December, and I should know by March-ish where we'll be heading next year. And I'm so ready for moving on to our next great adventure.

Future climber

At the park

Why I cancelled my Kindle Fire order

2011-10-12T20:38:00.001-06:00

I was super excited for the Kindle Fire. I love my Kindle, probably too much, and I also love our Ipad, though not as much. The combination of the two seemed like a great idea. Here's what changed my mind:

Technical:
No way to link a keyboard. I like to be able to treat our ipad like a laptop sometimes by connecting the wireless keyboard and doing some good typing. It doesn't seem like there will be any way to do this on the Kindle Fire.

No microphone, so I couldn't use it to record things instead of typing them. It also doesn't replace a digital recorder for classes like I hoped it would.

Hand in hand with that: No camera, so no way to skype while I am in DC (more on that in another post).

I know that these features are all taken out to get the price to $199. But I realized that without these features, I wouldn't use my Kindle Fire for hardly anything. The screen is a little too small to make it a good replacement for home mobile browsing and no 3g doesn't make it a great mobile solution either. My regular kindle has a very slow but functional wifi web browser that I can use in emergencies. I wouldn't read books on it, because the e-ink kindle is so much nicer than a screen to read on when I am on the go. I have an ipod for music and audiobooks. So really, the only thing I would use the fire for would be occasional web browsing and watching movies and tv shows that I go to the trouble of transferring or streaming, and again, I would rather do that on the bigger Ipad screen. Watching movies on the go isn't something I really want to do anyway, it seems too plugged in if you know what I mean.

Philosophical:

This post from mnmlist pretty much sums it up. I don't need it, so why buy it. The Kindle has simplified and enhanced my life in a meaningful way, I just don't see the Fire doing the same. Sometime, I need to write a post about our meager attempts at Minimalism and how much more I'd like to do of less.

And finally, Financial:

We are poor college students. We don't have $199 to toss around. We did buy a nice mac and an Ipad, but that was after a lot of thought and looking at other options. This just didn't make the cut as useful enough for the cost.

Theo pictures

2011-10-11T03:12:00.000-06:00

Up on the other blog. It's very early, but Theo wants to be up. So I will blog.

A more meaningful fast

2011-10-09T13:31:00.000-06:00

In the LDS church, we are asked to fast once a month, meaning we abstain from food and water for 2 meals and give the money that we saved on not eating to the church to then give to the needy. Read more about this here. I just wanted to share something that has made my fast more meaningful. I don't at all advocate this as necessary or even beneficial to all, but just to suggest it as something that has been meaningful to me. I also don't want to suggest that I've moved past "regular" fasting. I still struggle with regular fasting, a lot. But here is something that has helped me to add meaning my fast and focus on the real reasons for it.

The last four or five times I've fasted I've tried to fast from more general consumption. I'm not consuming food or water, so I thought I'd avoid other forms of consumption too, and try to have it as a day where I focus on creating. What that has meant in practice is mainly avoiding consuming media, although I also have avoided shopping or other forms of entertainment while I'm fasting. I'm a big media guy. I don't watch too many movies, but I do read a lot of books, news and listen to music and audiobooks frequently. Giving those up, while it should easy, has proven very difficult, but rewarding.

I think the main benefits are that I have a quiet space in my life and my mind to contemplate where I am at and what I am fasting for. I think creation is such an important part of life that I often miss out on by consuming too much. Creation, for me, takes a wide variety of forms. Writing this blogpost is creation, while reading other blogposts would be consumption. Cleaning the house on Saturday night (or sometimes on Sunday, when there is a need) creates a more peaceful and mindful atmosphere in the home. Spending time with my family creates bonds that will last. All these things and others are what I like to focus on while I'm fasting from consuming.

Some caveats: I do read scriptures and other church materials while I'm fasting, but I try to focus on what I am supposed to become from reading, rather than just the stimulating and enjoyable act of consumption reading that I do otherwise.

So, what do our readers do to enhance their fasts (if you fast) or how have you found room in your life for creation? Leave a comment, if you please.

A breastfeeding rant, beware

2011-09-20T10:42:00.000-06:00

I understand sometimes breastfeeding doesn't work. Sometimes babies have a hard time, for whatever reason: given a bottle at the hospital and lack of general support, in the NICU for prematurity, underweight and not able to transfer enough, cleft palate, moms going back to work full-time.... I see it all and I get it. Something that blows my mind and I just can't comprehend is these stay-at-home moms who are "too busy" with other obligations to breastfeed. Like I had one mom with something like three other kids, and argued with me forever about how she only was going to breastfeed the first month and then switch to formula because she wouldn't have help after that, and breastfeeding complicated her life too much. If you get past the first month (usually the hardest one) and breastfeeding is going well, why on earth would you consider formula EASIER?! It seems like it adds a ton of work to your load... buying the formula, preparing the bottles, feeding the baby, washing the bottles, etc. Especially if you have already got the breastfeeding thing down where it's just whip it out and feed the baby, carry on with daily life. Not to mention if you have older toddlers/preschoolers running around with their snotty noses, bringing home all sorts of who-knows-what into the house for the baby to catch, seems like you'd want that extra immunity protection.

Can someone help me understand why a stay-at-home mom would choose not to breastfeed due to time constraints even if things start out well in the beginning?!

Also... if you are too busy to nurture and cuddle your baby, why even have one? If you have too many other kids that you leave your babe in a carseat all day and prop up the bottle every few hours, why bother? (and what is with the carrying your baby in a carseat thing?! I will never understand. Those things are heavy, cumbersome, bad for babies' heads and development... why can you not just carry your baby in from the car if they aren't sleeping? And who doesn't want to hold their new baby ALL THE TIME? I know I did. I would fight with Tim in the beginning to hold him during Church, but most moms I see at Church just leave their baby in a carseat the whole meeting and occasionally look down and make a face or hand them a pacifier. Don't get it, at all).

2011-09-14T16:48:00.000-06:00

So there were three parties for Theo. Actually two of them were pool parties, one thrown by Ash Mae and Carl to celebrate the next stage of their life and one by David Clark to celebrate friendship. But they were very close to Theo's birthday. We got pictures of neither, but be assured that they were great fun. We did get a few pictures (although not as many as we would have liked). Here are some:

Memories of last birthday

Surprise! The new baby came. Not really, this is our friend Jon and Tallia's baby

Contemplation

Yes, that is bike grease and ice cream with frosting. We are awesome parents.

Thanks to everyone who came: Ethan, the Bryners, the Ricks, Becca Ricks (no relation), David, Andy, Austin, Austin's friend and anyone else who I am forgetting.

600th post, or how I'm going back to school

2011-09-13T11:53:00.000-06:00

Why, hello there, folks! It's me, Cait. Coming at you from the American Fork WIC clinic where I still have 20 minutes left of work but essentially I have absolutely no work left to do! And I feel too ill to make any more phone calls to newly breastfeeding mothers/I've called everyone and anyone I can think of and either a) they think breastfeeding is gross and plus their mom didn't make enough milk and please don't bother them again, or b) it's going so perfectly wonderful, and why the heck are you calling me? One day, I will post all about the funniest things people say about breastfeeding. Until then...

The latest news that you are all dying to hear (oh wait, you probably only care about hearing about my pregnancy). After months of deliberation, Tim and I have decided to send me on to school next fall. To get a PhD. In Sociology. It's something I considered for a long time, something that was always in the back of my mind through undergrad and has haunted me since. Haunted me because I didn't want to go back to school for 13 years, I wanted to do something practical like midwifery (but now I realize that I'm only very slightly interested in being on call all hours of the day and being up to my elbows in a woman's bodily fluids), and I did not think I was smart enough/motivated enough to do a PhD. But, now revisiting the issue two years out of school, I'm desperate to get back, and more than motivated. And hello, my calculated undergrad GPA is practically a 4.00 and if past success on standardized testing is any indicator, I should do more than fine on the GRE (taking a practice one Saturday.... so time shall tell). Plus, I've got heaps of research assistant experience and excellent recommendations.

The real challenge now is finding the right program with the right professors and the right research areas and the right living arrangements and the right cost of living and the right financial package and the right eateries.... no, ok, not eateries, but GEEZ, I didn't realize that applying to a PhD program was so complicated. It's nothing like applying to undergrad where you pick a good school and go with it. You have to contact professors and find aligning research interests and go visit and do interviews (sometimes) and write long personal statements about how you will be a good fit at their school. Applying to a PhD program is more than GPA and GRE and how brilliant you are... it's how good you "fit." But how do you even know if you fit somewhere? I'm still exploring the question.

Pretty much, it boils down to if I get into Berkeley, I'm going there. Unless I don't get in, in which I will be applying to 7 other schools I could potentially get into (many of which involve very cold winter climates, so please Berkeley, accept me!).

Also, applying to grad school is expensive. Like it's going to cost us close to $1000 at the end of the day. But no complaining, because once I'm in, I should have a fairly attractive financial package that will pay health insurance, tuition, and a stipend of living expenses (somewhere around $20,000? I think?)

Tim is thrilled with getting to be a stay-at-home dad for longer. I was pushing him hard for grad school and he wants to go but was stressed out with finishing school, taking the GRE, getting recommendations, and everything this fall. I'm more than prepared to apply, and it feels like the right decision for both of us.

So, my days consist now of researching programs, checking out the married student housing and on-campus childcare options, e-mailing professors I've never met and hoping I'm not bugging them, and spending hours trying to figure out just what the heck is going to be on the GRE (it changed last month, so the 2011 study guide book I was using is outdated, apparently... no more antonyms or analogies??)

Isn't it weird to think that three years ago when I was pregnant with Theo, I was applying for my undergrad internship? I'm getting so... old.

Theo Turns Two

2011-09-09T08:07:00.002-06:00

See it on the other blog. Our internet has been down, and is still kind of spotty. But hopefully this starts another surge of blogging.

Yesterday:

Cleaning and running in the morning. I had class while Cait shopped, went to the doctor and prepared for Theo's surprise party. We had people over, it was great. Post to come.

Further Evidince

2011-08-26T11:03:00.000-06:00

Although Cait continues to deny that she is pregnant, when she comes home with a picture like this, what am I to think?

Yesterday: Playing in the morning, early run and naps. Then we played with A. Grass and then went to her birthday party, where we ate homemade Cafe Rio and cupcakes. Charla slept on our couch.

Hatin' on the poors

2011-08-25T11:08:00.000-06:00

The Daily Show - World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Listen, I've read Atlas Shrugged. I like Atlas Shrugged. There's still no getting around the fact that the super rich would have done what it takes to get super rich, even if they got taxed 2% more. Capitalism is not malicious, it is just easily abused (as is Communism). Controlling the means to production, controlling distribution of profits is necessary for a certain percentage of the population, but that does not mean that their retaining the vast, vast majority of money in the country is justifiable, fair or beneficial to the country as a whole. I'm in favor (and Cait is with me) of redistributing wealth. CEO's, investment bankers, housing moguls didn't earn that money, they didn't generate that money, they were just in a position (with the compliance of the US populace) to hold onto an absurdly large amount of the money circulating through the system.

There are people mooching off of the system in the bottom 50%. Heck, we're mooching off of the system. But here's the deal, besides this summer break (the first one where we haven't had someone in school or work much more than full time), we've been working extremely hard. And we'll continue to work hard and contribute for the rest of our lives, easily as much as the CEO's, investment bankers and housing moguls, just like the majority of the rest of the poors. Which ones are the real takers and which ones are the real makers?

Three Doses of Opinion

2011-08-23T12:55:00.001-06:00

So, I've posted before about reading Three Cups of Deceit by John Krakauer and I just finished Three Cups of Tea by Mortenson himself. After reading the criticized book, I still stand by what I said before. I don't really feel like either account approaches fair or unbiased. Of course, Mortenson's own account paints him in an overly favorable light, but I still feel like Krakauer is overly negative, especially with regards to people's motivations, as I felt reading Into Thin Air as well as from what I've heard of other books. A lot of Krakauer's criticisms aren't really confirmed. Yes, there have been no real audits of CAI, but Krakauer seems to automatically assume that those audits would return damning evidence of Mortenson's using the funds of the business for his own benefit. Yes, some schools are empty, but he doesn't say anything about the schools that are functioning. Yes, Mortenson lied about Korfe and about being captured by the Taliban (more about that in a bit), but does that mean he is trying to scam all his donors out of their money, like Krakauer seems to believe?

The truth when ardently proclaimed by two firm sides invested in their own belief, as often happens, seems to me to be somewhere in the middle. Here's a great take by Outside magazine (someone invested in both sides) that sums up well what I was thinking. I think a lot of people have jumped on to Krakauer's side because, as my friend Andrew Howell put it, we love to see hero's fall. Everyone was behind Mortenson for a while, but as soon as everyone buys in, it becomes uncool to be a fan of someone successful, and so everyone is willing to assume the worst when the person turns out not to be as perfect as everyone thought. I think he lied about the village because he didn't end up liking the bureaucracy in the first village. I think he lied about being captured by the Taliban because he lied to his wife about it first, in order to excuse his spending too much time in Pakistan, and so had to keep up the lie. I think the CAI seems poorly managed because Mortenson is an awful manager. But without him, none of the schools he built would have been built. Bottom line. He struggled and fought for years and years when no one believed in him. If he was in it just for fame or money, he would have given up when those things seemed impossible. But it seems to me, what he did see as possible, was helping some kids out in a country no one else cares about. I still wont call him a hero until the whole story comes out, but I wont call him a crook either.

Yesterday:

Cait worked all day. I cleaned in the morning, run, nap, run, park, Mom comes home. We ate some frozen food and then played around the house til the bedtime run.

Birthday Review

2011-08-22T13:47:00.002-06:00

So, here's the story of yesterday. I wanted to get some pictures, but they are few.

The morning started with picking up some early birthday presents for Theo (and thus for me, because him playing on his own is a good thing) from a garage sale we knew would be good. The best purchase, along with some lamps and some paintings from another garage sale, was this small kitchen, which we knew from previous Theo experience, he would love, and he does.

The Picture and the Lamp

Then we went to The Awful Waffle for breakfast. It was good, but the portions were smaller than you would think for $3.50 to $4.00. I mean, they're waffles, you can afford to make them big. But still, good.

Then home for cleaning and naps and waiting for my sister Charity to show up to watch Theo. We drove into Salt Lake, picked up a sweet traveling crib for Theo now and Leroy (my blog name for the new baby) later. Then to REI for my new Vibram Five Finger Speeds, which were a present from my mom. They deserve their own post, but suffice it to say, I don't think I'll be buying any other running shoes for a very long time.

We looked around REI for a while, drove to Costco and bought food and then came home to eat.

I went on a good 8 mile run, the first little bit with Theo. The run lasted until almost 11, and I really felt like I was running into a whole new year of living. Hopefully I'll keep running.

Yesterday:
Church in the morning. Disgruntled in the gender unequal marriage class. No nap for Theo in the afternoon. Playing and watching shows. Theo went down early, so we adults had a rare evening together. Nice.

The 5k Without a Name

2011-08-21T11:43:00.001-06:00

I ran a 5k on the 13th and it went smashingly. It was for employees of Utah County (Cait) and their families (me and Theo). Cait was much to sick to run, but I put Theo in stroller and took off. It was a little loop course down center street and around the state hospital. I accidentally left the brake on the first mile, but it hardly does anything. I ran in the lead and alone almost the whole race and ended in first in 18:55, which is a little slower than I would have liked (my stroller PR is 18:30), but that's okay. I don't think I have too much speed after marathon training. I won $25 to sports authority (I went to buy shoes but they didn't have any good ones) and it was the first race I've been in where only the top 3 guys get prizes and not the top 3 women. Tough for them.

Here's a picture on the podium with the third place guy:

Also, I like to imagine that Theo just spin on that kid's face, although that didn't happen

Yesterday:

We did all sorts of birthday things for me (and many other non-birthday things) which shall be the subject of another post.

Camping trips

2011-08-20T12:24:00.001-06:00

Since getting home from our extended camping trip in Seattle/Portland/Idaho, we've camped twice, once with our friends Carl and Ash Mae and once with the ward. The pictures are all from the former, except the last one, which is from the latter.

Ashes are delicious

Bending a stick with muscles

Sure Theo, explore that cave

We ate some delicious tin foil dinners

Carl's family joined us for dinner

All Theo wanted to do was play by the river

Hiking Portrait

While it may look like I'm going to the bathroom, I'm not. I'm just reading Tom Jones.

The one good photo from the ward camping trip, once again, he only has eyes for the river

So basically, we are all camped out. And our tent broke. Twice. So, maybe we will revamp for next year.

Yesterday:

Family Seven Peaks trip in the morning. Hanging around the neighborhood in the afternoon. Nursing a sick Cait in the evening. Early bedtime run for the guy.

Eric's Endowment

2011-08-19T00:31:00.002-06:00

My brother, Eric, went through the temple for the first time. Read a Mormon approved description here. Non-approved you'll have to figure out for yourself. I rode up with my sister Charity. I wanted to pick up new vibrams on the way up, but ran out of time, both because the guy and I stayed to long at Seven Peaks and because traffic was bad. So we arrived. It all went smashingly and it was nice to be there with my whole family. We went out to dinner afterword and I got home very late and tired, but it was nice. Here are the photos.

Sound of Music

Showing Eric the special back door

Yesterday:

Library in the morning while Cait worked. Park in the afternoon while Cait slept. Then we watched Charly (not the Mormon one) and went to bed.

Like Heath Ledger at the Oscars

2011-08-18T19:48:00.001-06:00

I hope it doesn't offend anyone, but I had (and still faintly have) a belief that Heath Ledger did not die in early 2008, but that his death was faked to add supreme effect to his role as the Joker. This idea was first proposed to me by my friend Westin who has a mind for these kind of things. But unlike Heath Ledger at the Oscars (where in my mind he would have shown up to accept the award for best actor) I have returned...to blogging. Our abscence was due mainly to Cait getting very sick from her pregnancy and the shifting of most of her household duties to me, although I do them poorly, especially the cooking.

Also, we sold our old computer, because it was getting old. Although it still worked, because it was a Mac, as opposed to our newer PC laptop, which is a goner, because it was a Power PC Mac instead of an Intel based one, most new programs weren't working on it, including a new enough version of Itunes to support our Ipad and Ipod. So we debated for a long time about new versus used, mini versus Imac and ended up with this (sorry for poor photo quality):

We got a new Imac from the BYU bookstore. It was their cheapest model but still cost a nifty 1150. But that did come with a free wireless printer, Adobe photoshop, $100 in the appstore and a free upgrade to the new operating system. Even though it cost a lot, we think its a good investment, both because we use the computer so often and because Macs retain their value so well, that we should be able to resell it for a good price (we only lost $75 on the last one) So even though we got the new computer, I spent what time I had on it figuring out what it could do and surfing the web on its pretty screen. But I'm ready for a return.

So the official topic of this post is our new computer and its set up. We got a free desk from someone in the ward, and lucky for us, it was an adjustable height computer desk.

I've been reading a lot lately about the bad effects of sitting down and wanted to try a standing desk. Also, this puts the computer out of the guys reach and also discourages too much computer time for the adults (in theory). After a little struggle to put it together with my friend Casey (many of the parts are gravity dependent), and some fiddling with the height (trying to get it at a good height between me and Cait (thus the books under mouse and keyboard). So far we are extremely happy with the computer and the set up.

Any other standing-height deskers out there, or anyone that has wanted to try? Leave a comment.

Yesterday:

Cait worked all day. I tried to go to Seven Peaks in the morning with the guy, but he fell asleep (his naps have come earlier in the last little bit). So we went again after his nap and after Cait's lunch break. After that, we hurried home, because I wanted to buy my new five fingers in Salt Lake before I went to my brothers first trip through the temple (subject for another post), but the traffic was so bad, that we didn't have time. So temple and dinner with the family and home at midnight, where the guy had finally gone asleep for mom, who had him alone for the first time in a while.

Thoughts on this pregnancy

2011-08-09T17:59:00.003-06:00

I must say that this go around I'm feeling a heck of a lot better than last time (maybe it's the breastfeeding?). No puking, way less nausea, and I'm still (mostly) functional. I do have moments where I feel like dying, but that's usually when I push my limits without taking a break, and I try to avoid doing that. Luckily I have some Zofran left over from Theodore in utero, and that has been helping. I just have to convince my midwives to write me a prescription for more ("I mean, I can't keep ANYTHING down, puking for hours..." etc).

I've been a lot more tired than usual, and like the nausea it comes in waves (thank God it's not 24/7 constant like last time). I'm still trucking along though with the summer plans. I didn't want to get pregnant in the summer because I didn't want our perfect few months to be ruined (but a spring baby! how lovely!), so I'm trying to forget I'm tired and nauseated and not able to ride water slides and sleep on the ground. And for the most part, when I'm out, I feel like I can do it. The worst moments are when I get home and remember that I'm pregnant and sick. But... morning sickness is the sign of a healthy pregnancy, right? At least all is well in utero, for now.

I'm thinking this might be the last time I do this.

But at the same time, it feels like a shame to be blessed with such awesome fertility (Tim looks at me, and boom, knocked up!) and not use it to its fullest potential. But I don't think even now that I can handle two (ok, let's be honest, I can barely handle the one), so we'll see what happens when he/she arrives.

More to come on the adventures of convincing your insurance company to cover home birth...

Theo's Montessori Bedroom

2011-08-07T18:24:00.000-06:00

I always thought letting my child sleep on a mattress on the floor was lazy parenting...

but, no! I was totally being progressive and Montessori-ish.

Check out: Finnian's Montessori Bedroom.

And moms out there, have a good laugh.

But actually, she is probably having the last laugh because I'm sure her house is still gorgeous and neat. I'm really just jealous because mine is messy and is full of old, rotting DI furniture.

Road Trip Days 10 & 11: Morgan Valley Marathon to Home

2011-08-07T11:28:00.000-06:00

Saturday my dad and I got up early to drive up to Morgan City where I was going to run the marathon and he was going to run the 5k. The race started at 5:30. I ate a banana and drank some water before we left and felt pretty good, if a little tight, especially my right knee. The field was small, with only 65 runners total.

I lined up at the front and followed two other young guys, Brian Tucker and Gentry Lawson (learned all these names afterwords) out at the start, following them by around 20 feet for the first few miles.

We were right behind a police car who was guiding the route for us, but it was still dark and the lights were bright enough to be bothersome for sure. I caught up with the two leaders at mile 3 or 4 but let them leave me behind a little later. I got passed by an older guy, Greg Richens, (who beat me at Provo City half marathon at the age of 55) moving fast and watched him move into the lead.

Zach Rich caught up to me and we ran together for a long time. We both got passed by Chad James as we closed in on Mt. Green and made the turn to go back up to Morgan. I felt great the whole time up until this point (except for chafed nipples, which I got band aids for) and left Zach to go after Chad. I was running 7:40 miles steady until mile 14, (13.1 in 1:38 something) But, unbeknown to me (although it makes perfect since in hindsight), the road back up to Morgan was a steady, if slight, climb. My pace slowed. My knees really started bothering me. I still felt pretty good until mile 20 or so, and then started feeling really sluggish. Nothing as bad as my first two marathons, but still pretty bad.

I tried to keep a steady pace and minimize walking breaks, almost all limited to take water at aid stations. Probably should have taken a little more gu to get me through the wall. But mainly I think it was the cold I had a few days before that kept me off the pace I was looking for. Or maybe a shortage in training. Either way, I readjusted my goal to 3:30 instead of 3:15 and just tried to hold steady, as each progressive mile seemed to get longer and longer.

I saw who I thought was Greg Richins up ahead of me around mile 23 or so, so I decided to try to catch up to him. We also started passing half marathon runners, which was a nice boost. I caught of to Greg circling around the high school and knew I was almost home. I just kept imagining collapsing into my dad or Cait's arm at the finish line and how good that would feel and tried to keep my feet moving. I also could tell I was going to be right around 3:30 so I tried to push as much as I could on the road to the fairgrounds, but I just didn't have much left.

Yeah, I wore my brother's old cross country top, because I forgot mine. Also, check out the terrible form

I stumbled into the chute as I saw Cait and my dad waiting for me, thinking "It's over" and "I wish Theo was here". I ended up not collapsing into anyone's arms, crossing in 3:30:04 (even though they didn't have the marathon times showing, but the half instead) but leaned on Cait for a good while and sat down. I was exhausted and got cold really fast (it was not as warm as anyone expected). I got some help and food at the aid tent. Sat under a blanket and had my blisters covered along with two slight abrasions from the 5 Fingers, which otherwise did absolutely great.

I slowly recovered as we waited for the awards to be given. I took fourth overall, so no cash, but I did win my age group which won me a horseshoe. Not a great prize, but oh well, age group prizes are never great and there is almost never a prize for fourth place.

Where I sat waiting for awards

I really liked the race. I would have liked it to be a downhill course started from up near the resevoir, but there is no reason every marathon should be downhill. The aid stations were great and they even had some mobile aid stations driving around. I'm sure the field will grow, so that not so many runners have to run alone as long as I did (miles 14-21). I would really like to make this my "regular" marathon, but we'll have to see.

Future running plans will have to be the subject of another post, as they don't extend beyond revving up my training for a few months before the snows hit. We'll see.

Yesterday:

We came home from camping. Tried to clean up. Cait went shopping. Theo didn't nap. We ate shrimp and potatoes for dinner. Theo fell asleep early. I went for a run.

Our Fridge

2011-08-06T12:03:00.001-06:00

Instead of posting about our marathon, I decided to post a picture of our fridge. Enjoy:

Yesterday:

Seven Peaks in the morning. Naps. Ward Campout at night. Done.

Road Trip Day 8 & 9 Thur & Fri

2011-08-05T14:25:00.000-06:00

We woke up after sleeping in a reserved campsite which no one claimed. We were worried that we were going to get in trouble for this, so we were getting ready to take off. Then the camp host came down and was really nice and told us to stay another night. The camp ended up being free, which is awesome for so nice a place, but common for Idaho apparently. So we spent a relaxing morning playing on the dock. I tried to swim for a while, but realized I am still a terrible swimmer, although I did make it all the way to a buoy out in the water. Here are some great photos, and the only ones of the post:

Then it was the drive into Morgan and collapsing that night in exhaustion from way too much driving. The next day (Friday) we played around at my parents house in the morning. Then we left Theo with my parents and went to see Harry Potter 7 which we both liked. We then picked up Theo, went up to Morgan City to pick up my race packet and shirt and then went to my friend Gus's house to see our friends Mario and Wendy and Jake, along with Gus' family. We ate some good pasta and then took off before they started a movie so I could get some sleep.

Marathon report tomorrow!

Yesterday:

Woke up from camping. Broke camp and came home (we'll post about this trip fully later). We then stopped at Bahio for food after missing the turn to go to Costa Vida in Spanish Fork (they keep moving that freeway entrance!). The food was terrible and the service worse. What a disappointing restaurant. Cait might blog angrily about that soon. We got home and slept. I went with my friend Westin to a movie, who, although he lives here in Provo, I never see. It was Captain America and it was predictably good. Both that I expected it to be good and also it was predictable, but in a likable way. It had a good retro feel. I still would put Spider Man 2 & 3 and Bale Batman 1 & 2 ahead of it as my favorite Super Hero movies, maybe with some others too. Then we ate whatever we had and went to be early.

Road Trip Day 7 Wed

2011-08-04T14:49:00.001-06:00

To start, here are some pictures from our Wednesday night/Thursday morning campsite. They are from Wed. night, but that's fine.

Nothing better than playing in the dirt

Balance!

And...Jump!

We drove for a little and then went on another hike. We all went the first half mile, than reached a parking lot, so I ran back and got the car and drove to the end.

Contemplating Eternity. Or the freeway.

Our next stop took us to Baker City, where we hit the local park, made some friends who were also road tripping (for them to a music festival in Idaho), the local farmers market for fruits and veggies and the local library, where Theo played in the sweet kid's room.

Theo's latest habit: lining things up in rows.

Then after Theo spent time at another favorite hobby, throwing stuff into local rivers, we got back in the car for a lot of driving. I thought camping in Oregon was too far from our destination, but we had a really hard time finding camping in Idaho. We finally broke down and bought a map that guided us to Lucky Lake state park, where we plopped down our stuff in the first campsite we saw and went right to bed.

This was definitely the most "road trippey" of all our days and it seemed to drag forever, but now we were only four hours from my parents house.

Yesterday: Mostly just stuck around the house to rest a slightly sick Theo while Cait worked. We played around the neighborhood for a while after an afternoon run. Then we made an impromptu decision to go camping with our friends Ash Mae and Carl, because we figured this blog doesn't have enough of us camping. More on that in another post.

Road Trip 2011 Day 6 (Tue): Portland

2011-08-03T11:58:00.003-06:00

I woke up early and went on a run, we ate breakfast and then we drove down to Portland to explore, guided by the recommendations of our friend Sofia, in whose apartment (also belonging to her husband Matt, both famous as the band Canoe). We parked in the institute parking lot, because they don't have classes during the summer. Our first stop was a walk down to Powell's books.

Theo didn't know what he was missing (no, not his arms, the bookstore)

One day this section will be named for Cait

Then we walked to a farmers market downtown, of which Portland apparently has many. Also we went to a cool toy store to calm down a fussy Theo. No, we didn't buy anything, here or in the bookstore or at the farmers market. We did by Theo a corn dog and us some falafel at some roadside stands. Next, I grabbed the car, and guided by our new GPS (which Cait hates but I enjoy) I picked up Cait from the local library, and we met Sofia at a local Mexican restaurant (I don't remember the name) and then we drove up Washington Park where we played on the sweet playground, in the big sandpit and went to the bathroom in the original home of the first elephant to live in Oregon.

Theo's great sand sculpture. No. It's a statue. That boy to the right had to defend his sand castle from Theo's destroying instincts however.

Our new child. Not. This is Sofia's younger boy (who has a very cool name that will not be shared on this public blog).

Once again, we debated about staying another night, but we decided to head out once again. We found a camping spot not to far out of Portland and went on a hike up the hill. And then went to bed.

Very Sleepy

Yesterday: We had an appointment with a new speech therapist in Orem. Still trying to get the guy to speak. It was early and Theo woke up at 4, so we were all tired. After the appointment, which went fine, we drove back, Theo fell asleep and we all took naps. Then cleaning, lunch and playing around the house, before going to the park before dinner. We had delicious curry for dinner and then I went shopping for food and my birthday/marathon finishing present, an ipod nano, which should be great for the long runs. Home for a late run with the guy and to bed.

Road Trip 2011 Days 5 and 6

2011-08-02T11:50:00.001-06:00

Sunday:

We all slept in a little and so while the Richins were at Church on time, the Carroll-Browning's barely made it in time for the sacrament. Theo, as usual, had to be chased around the church during sacrament meeting, but loved him some nursery, even in a completely new place. Back from church, Cait and Allison whipped up some good pasta and we all worked to tidy up the house for some of Christopher's family that was coming over. And then it was a gradual drift off to sleep.

Monday was our big day attempting to explore Seattle. We had fairly big plans. We were not prepared for the rain, or the weariness of four children walking around. We did make it to the famous Pike's Place Market

and a children's museum in Bellavue (I think). The museum was a lot more fun for the kids, and for us too I guess.

We didn't take a ton of pictures of either place, but I think the idea of a large market and a children museum is pretty familiar.

We debated during the ride home whether to take off that night, or to stay on. We agreed that we were more of a burden than a help in a house already with enough stresses, so we took off to Portland. It was a long drive and we thought about camping once again, but we drove through and found our friend Sofia's house just in time to get ready for bed and conk out.

Yesterday:

Yesterday Cait worked AM and PM in Provo. I cleaned the house in the morning while a sick Theo watched shows, colored and read books. Cait came home and we ate pizza and then I took Theo on our first post-marathon run. He napped til almost dinner, than we ate delicious trout, potatoes and broccoli. Then a late evening family night run. Dinner was still sitting to heavy to go far, but at least I got my first 2-run day in a while.

Road Trip 2011 Days: 4 and 5

2011-08-01T16:23:00.001-06:00

Friday, after I woke up early to watch TV and eat breakfast with all the kids (which was an every day occurence)

we worked on unloading the car and sorting out which stuff was staying with Lauren, we went outside to ride bikes (another common occurrence) and playing at the park. Gavin was just learning to ride and Megan was reacquainting herself with the bike after a long absence, which was fun to see. We ate dinner at Cait's cousin Shay's and the kid enjoyed the high-end playset and muddy patches in the backyard and we enjoyed good tacos and brownies. Christopher (Lauren's husband) came back that night and started helping me fix the car window.

The car window would end up being a two-night project. At first we tried to isolate the problem (the regulator motor), and see if we could fix it. We couldn't so we ordered the part and picked it up the next day (Saturday) and installed it Saturday night. It was a difficult process and I had no idea what I was doing, but luckily Christopher and the internet did. Here's a video if you want to get the idea. It all went really well, except (we learned once we left) we didn't reattach the latch to the inner door handle, so now we have to roll down the window and open it from the outside after driving. I'll fix that sometime soon.

Saturday, Cait went with Allison to the local farmers' market, where they bought a bunch of fruit and hotdogs for the kids. Theo's cousin ate much more and stayed awake much longer. Oh well. (Check out the double Bob, I ran with it a little and it worked great).

I stayed back and rode bikes, along with Chris and their oldest boy.

In the afternoon I went to play softball with Christopher and his Elder's Quorom and Cait and Allison brought the kids to watch. We didn't have enough players but it worked fine anyway. I got a nice bruise on my wrist from a ground ball by a missionary.

Then it was home for baths.

In the bottom photo there is the example of another common occurrence, Theo being grumpy. He had a fever and we thought he might be sick, but it turned out he was getting in his 2-year molars. At least they're the last ones.

While the baths were happening Christopher was helping me with the car window and I was helping him clean out the garage. Then we ate some cherries.

That's the first two days at Lauren's house, the next two days are even better, maybe.

UPDATE: Pictures of the dinner are available on Shay's Blog.

And I forgot to report that my Garmin GPS watch died Saturday morning and after thinking for a while that it was beyond hope and I was going to have to run my marathon without it, I found tips online that told me the buttons to hold down and press to bring it back to life. The world did not end.

Road Trip Day 3: Thursday

2011-07-31T18:03:00.000-06:00

I started the day with an early morning run up the mountain, some on trails, some not. I realize this is bad boy scout form, but the area I was in was remote enough that I think I made very little impact. The run itself was awesome, as I was able to crest the hill and get a great view. And then running down, especially when I got back on the trail, was a blast. All in all, a most tubular experience.

We tried to go on a hike afterwords, but Theo wasn't very interested, so we walked a ways, and then let him down to explore before heading back and piling in the car.

The drive this day was beautiful as we made our way into Oregon and Washington on some back road highways rather than on the main I84. We stopped off to snap some photos. Here's the panorama setting on our new camera:

We also stopped in Battle Hill Park and wondered which battle occurred in central Oregon. We settled on WWII. In the park we climbed the communal oven

and attempted another hike, but the trail ran out quickly, so we played in the flowers instead.

We debated for the rest of the ride whether to get all the way to Cait's sister's house (which was the main destination of the trip) or camp another night. We were in no rush, but we were having a hard time finding good camping as we had neglected to obtain a Washington map. The decision was made for us by the driver side window motor going out and the window not rolling up at all an hour outside of Seattle (more on the adventure of fixing the window later). And the weather was pretty chilly. So we drove into Seattle and after showers and a little chat, we went swiftly to sleep.

Road trip 2011:Day 2

2011-07-24T12:32:00.000-06:00

After a rough night for all three kids, Theodore of course was up at the crack of dawn while Heber and Eeva slept in a few more hours. We played outside and tried to keep him quiet while the other kids slept, but he was sad until Heber woke up to join in the fun. Ben and Janice made an absolutely delectable breakfast of cherry tart, and even Theodore ate it up.

We played for a while in the great back yard, causing minor destruction.

Eva, the youngest, sat quietly and watched.

Then we hit the road when it was time for the guy's nap. We drove. And drove. And drove. Until we reached Boise, where we made an unfortunate decision to drive in and see the campus of Boise State. It wasn't that unfortunate, just that we didn't know where we were going and ended up driving around a lot.

We started on our drive again and found a camping spot in Oregon near Baker City. It was a nice spot but a little scary because it was very isolated and not part of a regular campsite. We cooked hot dogs and s'mores and Theo played at the water's edge.

Cait's first fire:

Road Trip 2011: Day 1 (Tue)

2011-07-23T10:09:00.002-06:00

While Cait worked away the morning, I worked with Theodore (I worked, he watched shows) to get packed what hadn't been packed the night before and load up the car. It was a tight squeeze with clothes for a week and a half, boxes of Lauren's baby clothes we were returning, camping supplies and lots of food. But it all worked out. We even put Theodore *gasp* forward facing. It was a hard decision for Cait, but it would have been really tough to take care of him otherwise.

We made a not-so-quick trip to Target for some extra supplies and then made the drive up to Pocatello. The guy slept really well for the first part and then played and ate nice the rest of the way.

We stopped somewhere in Idaho to play in a random reservoir, mainly just to prove that we were impressively impulsive, but also for a fun break from driving. We were a little afraid to dive in the open water, but we did and it was refreshingly cool.

Playing in the Mud

Then we finished the drive to the house of my cousin Janice and her husband Ben. Theodore enjoyed chasing the chickens around with his cousin (or second cousin, whatever). We also enjoyed a delicious meal mainly from their very impressive garden, and talked into the night.

In the Sand

A moment of disagreement (Theo seems more determined)

Post-Dinner Groove

Future Plans: Summer 2011 Edition

2011-07-22T14:52:00.001-06:00

Time for another update as to our future plans, since people ask a lot.

Cait, I think, still favors the idea of nursing school and becoming a midwife, or going to grad school in public health or some such thing. The job she is working at now (lactation consultant for WIC), which is great for building her resume and getting connections (and she loves it), so she might stay there for a while.

I am planning on graduating either in December or April. I have 11 or 12 credits left, but there are some classes I want to take and we have pell grants to pay for school till the end of the school year. I probably wont be able to finish my Comparative Literature degree, since I would have had to go to school full time+ this spring/summer to fit with their deadline and I went to zero school+/ So we'll see. I'm starting to study for the GRE (as in the last two days) and might take it in the fall. I think I will try library science school and then look at getting into the foreign service somewhere down the road. At least, that is what I tell people when they ask.

It's tough to say who will go back to school first when I finish. Cait is probably more anxious to get back but staying at home has made me anxious too. So, that will depend on a number of things, including the timing of future children (if any) and the possibility that I forsake school to pursue my dreams of becoming a professional novelist/runner. I don't know which of the those contingincies are more likely. On second thought, I probably do.

For now we know this: vacation for a week and half, starting now (not like most of the summer hasn't been a vacation), marathon at the end of the month. School starting in September. And Christmas in December (although we refuse to commit to a location of celebration just yet).

So there's the update you've all been dying for.

'Thon Thursday: Five Fingers

2011-07-21T12:37:00.003-06:00

So I've been running in my Vibram Five Fingers for a while now. I've loved them so far. I've hurt my foot in them a couple of times, one time which put me out for a couple weeks, but that was as much from over-training as from the shoes. Both times after I got hurt, I thought maybe I should transition back to sturdier shoes, but I couldn't, because I loved the way the five fingers felt. Since then, I've down 4 5k's, 1 half marathon, and numerous training runs, including a 15 and a 16 miler. You can see in these photos of them on the line (after washing them to get the stank out) that they've taken some wear. The red stitching I put in a few days after I bought them, because they had been returned with the stitching coming undone in that spot. My sewing job wasn't tops, but I got them on a 65% discount, so I'll take it.

But they are starting to wear out, as you can see from the photo below (on the left foot, the obvious hole on the forefoot and wear on the toes). Most of the damage occurred in the Hobbler Half Marathon, which had a lot of downhill, forcing me to put on the breaks a lot and wearing down the forefoot and toes some. Only on my left foot, though, which probably speaks to a running imbalance. Which makes since since my legs get sore consistently in different ways.

So, I will probably retire this pair of five fingers from races or long runs after my marathon at the end of the month. I'll probably run a little more in traditional shoes and a lot more truly barefoot. But, if I am going to replace them, I'm debating between the running version of the five fingers (mine now are multi-sport), which will hopefully last a little longer or a minimalist shoe from Asics or Adidas. We'll see.

Blogging

2011-07-20T15:37:00.001-06:00

Anyone who follows our blog regularly has probably realized that my blogging output has really increased lately. In fact, between me and Cait, we haven't missed a day in over two weeks. This was brought on by Cait taking a hiatus from blogging and me realizing that if I wanted a blog, I would have to do it for a while. After posting for a few days, I realized that I wanted a blog. I've never really blogged on my own much, but this summer, with so much going on and me being the only one to chronicle it, I really got into it for the first time. I've worked to create a queue of blogposts that I schedule to come out later, so I don't have to worry about blogging everyday, leaving me with only the "Yesterday we..." portion that I have to write before a post is published for the day.

I am blogging because I want to remember this summer. It has been AWESOME. And my memory is terrible, so I wont remember it if I don't write about it. Sure, I could just write a personal journal, but the incentive of having other people reading the blog and informing those precious few of our readers who really want to know what is going on in our lives of exactly what is going on in our lives.

Of course, I still write also to get attention. Here's a secret: every blogger wants attention. Every blogger wants comments. But that has really has gone down on the priority list and I am writing about things I want to remember and things that I want my kids to be able to look back on and see for the first time. This includes my thoughts about politics, running and the gospel as well as about what our lives our like on a daily basis. I'm excited to see how long I can keep up this level of writing and hope to maintain the "yesterday we" portion, if nothing else.

Sure, blogging is narcissistic, and it always will be. But so is almost everything we do in our lives. But blogging is mainly about remembering and sharing. And there is much beauty in that.

The Guy's Haircut

2011-07-19T15:25:00.001-06:00

I know a lot of you have seen these pictures, but we wanted it on the blog, so:

The Guy's Haircut

Yesterday:

Cleaning the house and park trip in the morning. Naps/Lunch. Then family Costco/Library family night.

Sneaky National Institute of Infant Nutrition

2011-07-18T12:34:00.000-06:00

We got this document in the mail the other day.

I like questionnaires, so I started to fill it out. I like when people want to know about me, or my baby, so sue me. But, with my highly attuned anti-formula radar, and so after ignorantly filling out the first page and a half, I got suspicious. I "Googled" on the internets and found this article. Oh well, I'm sure someone is really interested in the infant nutrition. Someone.

Yesterday:

Got up in time for church. Theo would not sit still once again. He did run back to nursery after we left to wave goodbye to everyone, which was cute. Ate lunch, took naps, had the Lees over for dinner, went on a walk and then struggled for hours to get the guy to bed because we missed his sleep window once again.

Camping in Rock Canyon

2011-07-17T12:41:00.000-06:00

We started off the afternoon with dinner in Rock Canyon Park, before looking for a campsite. The pond at one end of the park had flooded and left a fine stream to play in, even if it was very cold.

Mom eating one of her delicious veggie wraps in the park

After setting up camp we went on a hike up Rock Canyon.

Getting ready for some milk in the dark

We woke up in the morning and I took a 15 mile run, most of it with my friend Matt Beatty, while Cait hung out with the guy and took him on a hike.

Waking up

Ice bath in the river

Looking to join dad or pull him out

Yesterday:

We finished up our camping trip. I did my run. We came home, rested and cleaned. Cait took the guy to the park while I finished the cleaning, then the guy went to bed early and we watched Fight Club, which will probably be our last Netflix movie and our last foray into mind bending dark movies for a while.

Summer veggies

2011-07-16T15:19:00.000-06:00

Aside from the meager amount of vegetables we've acquired from the small square-foot garden, I've been loading up on the seasonal produce whenever I hit Sunflower or Costco. I spent all summer eating frozen zucchini and canned tomatoes, and the fresh stuff is so much tastier, and now I can justify buying it since it's in season! Our everyday staples have been salads with fresh greens and cherry tomatoes and those tasty little snacker cucumbers topped with Annie's organic dressings. Pasta with sauteed zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes. Thai green curry with bell peppers, tofu, and carrots. Oh, and grilled chicken. Ohhhh, grilled chicken. Too bad we don't have a real grill though and have to rely on the Foreman.

One thing that's awesome about food stamps is you have this amount of money to spend on food, and you have to spend it because it can't go to anything else. I feel like I always skimped on food (like spent $100 a month or less) because it seemed like eating lentils and rice every day was a healthy/cheap meal that was fine with us (and we needed to save for studying abroad).... boy, did I not know what I was missing!! I think there really was a period of 2 or 3 months pre-Egypt where all we ate was lentils/rice/canned tomatoes and whatever we got with WIC. Not to mention the food from Egypt was... less than desirable. But now! Oh, the possibilities! I am dreading Tim finishing school and getting a real job because then I won't feel justified in mooching off the government (can we say grad school!?) Or.... we could just make real money (like more than the meager $1000 a month I take home from my government job at WIC), and then allocate $500 a month to food. I just don't think I could go back to the way things are before. Organic veggies of all varieties (red peppers! avocado!), raspberries and blueberries, grass-fed ground beef, Luna bars, boneless skinless chicken breasts, Brown Cow yogurt, Kettle chips, Breyer's ice cream, real maple syrup, brown eggs.... all were oft-wanted but never-bought luxuries in our previous life before food stamps. I think few people realize how much I love food. Well, I do. I love food. And food stamps has made our foodie-lifestyle infinitely more attainable. If not for the adding money to our budget, but adding the forced-spending of money.

Oh, the luxuries of taxing the rich to give to the poor.

Sometimes I'm so conflicted... but usually not.

Sigh.

Yesterday:

Family trip to the library in the morning. Naps. And camping in the afternoon, which we will post about soon.

Staying at Home

2011-07-15T12:29:00.000-06:00

On the Slide

It's been three months now. It's been fun staying at home and a nice break from trying to mix being a stay-at-home parent with being a student and sometimes employee. Cait's job is not very time consuming either, so that means I get a lot of time to do my own things like read and run. It also stops me from being a totally legit stay-at-home parent, as Cait still does most of the cooking. I don't mind cooking, but having to think up something to cook every night would be tough for me. Cait is very creative at finding things to eat, even when there is not much around the house.

It's been very interesting being the primary parent. I feel like I bring something different to the table than Cait, but I would have a very hard time deciding which one of us is better at staying at home. I have to admit I seem to enjoy it more.

My strengths as a parent:

Patience

Willingness to allow Theo to explore

Relaxed

Cait's strengths:

Creative in finding activities

Very active concern for his health and development

Having lots of stay-at-home friends for play groups (they're my friends too, but it's harder for me to call them up and say "let's hang out" for sure)

So, looking to the future, I think there's a fair chance that this will not be my only experience at stay-at-home parenting. And of that, I am glad.

Yesterday:

Hung out around the house, early nap for the Guy, park and Seven Peaks in the afternoon and then Cait let me go to a party for my friend Leland because the Guy had fallen asleep. Then he woke up from 12-3AM after having slept all night long the night before. Oh, the guy.

Our everyday activity

2011-07-14T20:40:00.000-06:00

Something awesome about this summer in Provo: The Pass of All Passes. When I first heard about it, I thought it was way too good to be true (we paid $40 for ours). Well, it wasn't. It's THAT good, and it works, and it's true and everything. There were rumors Seven Peaks would be way too crowded, but it actually hasn't been that bad. We tend to go in the morning when they first open and there are no lines for anything, you just walk right up. Kids can go down most of the slides on their parents' laps. There are two huge kid areas, a lazy river, and a giant wave pool. It's pure summer enjoyment at its finest.

To capture our now-pretty-much-daily activity, we made a great purchase of a waterproof digital camera. I think it takes pretty decent pictures for $140-plus-waterproof and shockproof. Thank you, Costco! (also thank you for the Julie's organic yogurt bars and those tasty/cheap organic animal crackers).

On the lazy river... a favorite activity of Theodore's

Austin and her sister Katie came with us this evening, it was rad

Signing "cat"

Theodore and I at the end of the "Caved In" slide

Learning to swim

Mmmm... what a fine specimen of a husband

Needless to say, life continues to be bliss. Can summer never end!?

'Thon Thursday: Ryan Hall

2011-07-14T13:23:00.007-06:00

One of my running inspirations lately has been Ryan Hall. He is the American record holder for the half-marthon, the only one to have ever run under an hour in the event on a sanctioned course. He also ran the fastest time ever for an American in the Boston Marathon, taking fourth in 2:04.58. That's a 4:44 minute mile the whole way. I doubt I could run one mile in 4:44 (although I was just a bit faster than that in high school in the mile, but still). It was also the fastest marathon by an American ever, but not a record because Boston is too much of an overall drop for it to be an official record (although it is still a super-tough course from what I hear.

What makes me really relate to Ryan Hall, besides his passion for running, however, is his mixing of sport and religion. I felt like running has always been a really spiritual experience for me. It's something about the combination of solitude and pushing a body to its limits that helps me to touch the divine in some small way, I think. Ryan is a lot more open about this connection than I have been ever, which I appreciate. I can see how such bold assertions as "I feel God running in me" could be off-putting to some, but I find it refreshingly honest. Check out these videos:

What a guy. I don't have a problem with the sport of long distance running being dominated by African runners or Kenyan runners. They need every boost they can get, certainly. But it's great to see someone from around here doing some really great things. It's a big inspiration for sure.

Yesterday:

Seven Peaks in the morning, with a little barefoot run there and back. Bike ride to get a nap in in time to go to the doctor, an undisclosed location in Orem, Pirate Island (I won a gift card, the Guy love it, even though he ate nothing), Costco, and then a goodbye party for Celia where we ate delicious cupcakes and swan in the indoor pool while it rained. Read more about the party here and probably here, in the near future.

Hobbler Update

2011-07-13T21:11:00.002-06:00

Here's the link to the professional photos from the event. Some of my best ones yet. Let me know if the link doesn't work. And if you want to buy some for me.

Pizza Night

2011-07-13T14:20:00.013-06:00

Due to my forgetting to post about the once-in-a-lifetime greatness that was Tallia and Jon's neighborhood block party, I will post about the regular awesomeness that is pizza night. Most every Friday night we head over to their house to eat delicious homemade pizza and other goodies. The quality and originality of the pizzas and ingredients has increased, along with the sides (I didn't snap any pictures of the watermelon with lime, but it was incredible). Here's a glimpse of the awesomeness (and read more about Tallia and Jon's life at their blog):

Cait with her sexy, "Why are you taking a picture of me while eating" look

Atticus did not want much pizza, he wanted an apple

This was my creation, although based on Cait's idea, Ranch/Potato/Egg pizza. It received high praise. I almost put chex mix on top, but resisted.

The Great Chef Jon

Tallia and Jon's daughter finishing others' watermelon

That is Jon, but not Tallia. That is Ashmae. I got no pictures of Tallia. Sorry Tallia.

Atticus got tired.

So we took him inside to play with Pizza Chef Elmo.

And Sesame Street Little People. Check out that pillow.

Yesterday:

Playing around the house and cleaning in the morning. Our friends Melissa and Raquel came over along with Melissa's sister Ali and all the kids to play in our Little baby pool and enjoy some nice July weather. Then Cait worked forever to get The Guy to sleep And we relaxed for a bit. Then dinner., the park, yoga and running.

Cait's Garden

2011-07-12T14:01:00.003-06:00

Cait has been working hard on her garden this summer and I am very proud of her. I haven't been as supportive as I probably should have been, forgetting to water and not helping to plant as much as I should, so I figured I would try to make up for that a little by praising her here. So far, we have eaten some delicious peas, lettuce and peppers with much more to come. She gets down on herself for not having as much stuff as she would like, but I know that if she sticks with it (and I help out some) she'll become a gardener of an extraordinary kind.

Yesterday:

While Cait worked, the Guy and I went to the park, where we saw Eliza of the Robbins fame with her grandma. We played there for a while and then we ran, the guy and I, to his doctor's appointment, during which run he fell asleep. The doctor checked Theo's ears and throat post surgery and everything looked fine. I forgot to ask about another hearing test, but we will probably want one soon. Home for lunch with mom, cleaning and back to North Park, which has more shade for the warmer afternoon. Theo followed another family around the entire time, evidencing how much he loves being with other kids. We biked to meet mom at work, biked home and Cait cooked some delicious Thai food and Casey and Melissa and children joined us for a nice evening meal outside. We put Theo to bed early and watched Precious, which we both really liked. Then to bed.

Hobbler Half

2011-07-11T12:56:00.000-06:00

I just finished the Hobbler Half marathon (although this post will take a few days to make it through the queue). It was a great race and I feel very satisfied. The course was fast, but challenging. It was down a canyon so the overall drop was significant, but there were also some rolling hills and spots of tough terrain (including rocky streets in town that were hard on the vibrams).

I did run the entire race in my five fingers. They felt great, although I feel like they transferred a lot of the work to my calves (something I've felt since I started wearing them). So my calves are pretty sore. Everything else feels great. I felt nice and relaxed until about mile 10, when I really had to start to push. I maintained a good sub 6:40 pace (my goal) for most of the race until that point and ended up with a 6:45 average. That gave me a PR in the Half of 1:28 and put me 28th overall and 3rd in my age group. Even though this is only my second half marathon (the other was Provo City in 1:39) and the course was quicker, I felt like there has been a lot of improvement in my running and now I am excited to tackle the Marathon on the 30th.

I didn't take any pictures, but I might add a link to some of the official photographer pictures when they come up.

Bonus Material:

Here are links to videos of my first ice bath. My legs were really sore after the race and this is supposed to really help. It was terrible. I warn you that I only have shorts on in the video and I am a very pale and skinny fellow in a lot of pain. If that sounds like fun viewing, feel free to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxMwd2BjW5g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2PyxdgzfP0

Yesterday We:

Had a very relaxing Sunday. We got up just in time to make it church and struggled to keep the Guy quiet. He just gets so anxious to go to nursery, which he loves, that he refuses to sit still during sacrament meeting, except for with the iPad, which we try to limit. We came home, ate lunch, took naps, cleaned the house, and ate pasta for dinner. Cait went visiting teaching. My sister Charity came over and we had one of those Browning type chats. We all went to be rather early because we were up so late the night before. A very nice, relaxing Sunday.

Today's Sunday School lesson

2011-07-10T16:37:00.001-06:00

The introduction:

Teacher: "Marriage is UNDER FIRE. There are those people who wish to "redefine" marriage as between two people other than a MAN and a WOMAN. Doesn't that bother you?" (nope, actually, not really, in fact, legally and politically I believe any consenting adult should be able to marry another consenting adult.. so I guess I'm one of them)

Comments, comments, comments....

"blah blah blah... other ignorant statements... those "same-sexed-gendered attraction people" are ruining our families and our marriages... "(I don't think that is what they prefer to be called, and how can they possibly ruin YOUR marriage?! They have nothing. to. do. with. YOUR. marriage. People always want a scapegoat for community and moral degradation, and now the Irish and African-Americans are off-limits so the homosexuals it is!)

"I HAVE prayed about it and HAVE a testimony that marriage should only be allowed between a man and a woman..." (well, woo-hoo. good for you)

The rest of the lesson continues on how to have a good marriage:

Comments begin: "My husband and I like to... {insert cheesy suggestion for keeping your marriage happy}"

Yet another: "Dr. Phil says you should... {blah blah blah to not get divorced}"

These utterly slay me: "I think a good way to keep your husband happy is to... {cook for him/clean/do a nice thing for him/let him play golf}"

"I had an MFHD professor that said...."

"Well, IIIIIII'm a Family Life major at BYU, so I know these things to be true..."

"The reason LDS people have better marriages is because we give 100% but those in the WORLD only give 50%, so that's why we are better at being married..."

*Amen*

My Testimony of the US

2011-07-10T13:19:00.004-06:00

This post is directed towards the Mormon readers of our blog. If you have any questions about Mormon specific terms or lingo, leave a comment. Thanks.

Like I said in an earlier post, I bore my testimony on Sunday about my feelings for the US. I know no one in the church would say they have a testimony of the US, but judging from what I heard in Church the past to Sundays, and looking at my own past, I would say that a lot of members of the Church do have a testimony of the US in some form. Please feel free to contest.

I think, looking back, I did have a testimony, or a belief in the special spiritual status of the United States. I say that looking back and mainly from the feeling of absence where that testimony used to be. What I am trying to say is that the United States and being a citizen used to mean something very different to me then it did before. I still feel very lucky to be a citizen of this country, but a lot more like how I feel lucky to be a part of my family, because they're mine and a part of me, but not because they're better than other families. It's no longer the feeling of being on a winning baseball team, like it used to be.

I think the idea of American exceptionalism runs very deep in the church. We've taken scriptures and teachings which seem to me designed to teach the early saints not to hate the country that was doing nothing to stop and sometimes encouraging their persecution and turned that instead into a belief that America has some sort of divine privilege or favor above any other country on earth. Much less excusable, I think, is taking promises out of the book of Mormon that were applied to America as a whole and as a land, and even more particularly to the native peoples that our ancestors drove to near extinction and then applying them directly to the political state that is the United States.

Even if God had designated the United States as some kind of privileged group or people, which I find highly doubtful, it is foolish, I think, to assume that God intentionally wanted one group of his children to be favored higher than another, rather than using one group to further his purposes, which is to spread his love to all God's children. There is no denying that the US played an important part in preparing a land in which Joseph Smith could start a church, but he also allowed it to be filled with enough evil people as to drive the Saints out of the country. Missionary work was very strong in the US early on, but even then, outside sources like the UK and Scandinavia were providing a lot of converts. Today its not even close. South America is exploding (especially the parts that maintain a significant Native American population).

Overall, I think the greatest danger here is that we, like ancient Israel, or like the Jews of Jesus time, hold onto our imagined or temporary favored status and miss out on the blessings that come from being a part of a worldwide church. Or perhaps even worse, we run the risk of turning away honest seekers from other lands by insisting that this is a church designed to be guided by the privileged "American" saints.

I love the United States. I love it because it is a core part of who I am and of the identity I've established. I love it's beautiful vistas and diverse and fascinating people. But I love it because it is mine, not because it is superior.

Yesterday We

I ran the Hobbler Half marathon in the morning while Cait slept in and took the guy to the farmers market. Then naps and cleaning. Later in the afternoon we went on a hike to Bridal Veil Falls which was a challenging but short hike with a cool misting waterfall on top. Then we went and got dinner at Iggy's Sports Grill with a gift certificate we have and realized why we don't eat out more often: The guy doesn't sit still and greasy food makes us sick. Then we came home and watcwhich movie and went to bed, late again.

Theo's Signing

2011-07-09T13:20:00.002-06:00

I threw up a couple of videos of the guy signing on the other blog. Also some bonus material. Enjoy.

Yesterday we:

Hit Seven Peaks in the morning. Definitely our most enjoyable trip yet. Not too hot, not too cold, and no lines on the slides (and general uncrowdedness). The guy loved it. I got in a little run too and from. Then naps, cleaning and then out to Springvillle, for me and the guy, where I picked up my packet for the race tomorrow. We also went to the park where we get on the buses to the start so I could see where it was. Then we met Cait at Pizza Night. And home early for bed.

Park pictures:

Zoo Trip

2011-07-08T12:00:00.002-06:00

This was totally Cait's thing, but I figured I'd get the pictures up and let her do some commentary if she wants (though she had expressed a distaste for blogging lately, so you might be kept in suspense). However, with a little guy as expressive as this, do you need commentary?

Yesterday We:

In a new feature that I hope to keep going consistently, I'll recap yesterdays (Thursday's) activities briefly. In the morning we took a family run to the library, books for the guy, Runner's World for me, and mothering books for Cait. Cait put the guy to sleep before going to work. I blogged, studied Arabic and listened to a bunch of Eye of the World while doing some stretches and exercises. In the afternoon, we cleaned the house, hung out with Casey Lee, who was working on his homemade climbing harness. Cait came home and we had a delicious Shepherd's Pie that had been previously prepared and frozen and a lovely summer salad with fresh strawberries. It took forever to get the guy to sleep and then I went out for a sunset run. One of my favorite parts of the day was when some kids approached Casey selling coupons for auto work. The one kid said to him "Nice to meet you." And in Casey's very non-nonchalant way, he replied "Oh, we haven't met." Cracked me up.

4th of July

2011-07-07T12:00:00.002-06:00

We had a very full 4th of July weekend. I started it with a twelve mile run Saturday. I meant to do more, but my legs were tired from a squat session that I did the day before. We cleaned the house for a while and then I went to work the Stadium of Fire. That was more fun than I was expecting for sure. I enjoyed both performers, David Archuletta and Brad Paisley, even though neither of their music was really my thing, they put on good shows. It was funny how nervous Archuletta seemed to be. I was on one of the corners of the field giving wristbands to those who had tickets to sit on the field. Cait took Theodore to the Freedom Days celebration on Center Street and then came up and saw the fireworks that were shot off from the Stadium. Then we met up at home and went to bed late.

Sunday was a fairly normal day. I did bear my testimony in Elder's Quorum, where the men my age meet for an hour on Sunday, about how being an American fits with my faith. This for me is a little more difficult blend than it is for many Mormons in the US, but I'll save that for another post. We then ate lunch with the Nueenschwander family. Cait is visit taught by the matriarch of the family while Casey Lee and I are assigned to home teach them (non-Mormons can try to make sense of that, but basically it means we are not only friends of choice, but also assigned to be friends by the church [okay, that's a little cynical]). We actually invited them over for dinner first, but then we realized that we didn't have any food, and since we had them over for dinner last month, they invited us over for delicious chicken and salad and pudding pie. We set off a few little fireworks, which Theodore loved at first and then hated. He really enjoyed playing with their two kids who are more energetic than he is, which is rare.

On the fourth, I got up early for the Freedom Run 10k. It was a fun race with a ton of people (1272 to be exact). It was my first 10k, which always seemed a little long for a fast race and short for a slow race. I enjoyed it for sure, but it was tough. The course wound around Provo and ran along the parade route, which was nice because there was a lot of people there watching. I ended up taking 14th overall (13th among the men) and second in my age group. Here are the full results. It was a little slower than I wanted, but it was a tough course so I'll take it. Cait tried to come out and watch me but was just a few minutes late.

I then hopped on my bike and rode down to join Cait at the ward breakfast, which was good, if a little heavy for after a race. We then stepped out to Center Street to watch the parade, which was kind of boring to be honest. Then back home for naps.

After naps we went with the Lee's up to Casey's mom's house, where we played on a 100 foot slip and slide and ate a very good dinner. The videos of the slide are the only evidence we have of the weekend, and they are kind of lame because neither of us had a particularly good slide when the camera was rolling, even though we had some good ones besides. We captured Casey having a good one, though.

Casey's family is super big and super close, so we felt a little like we were intruding, but they were very welcoming. We watched some more fireworks with the Lees and then came home very tired after a very full and enjoyable 4th of July weekend.

22 Months

2011-07-06T11:58:00.003-06:00

Our little guy has made it to 22 months. Read about it on the other blog. Also check out the new design. Leave your email in the comments if you want an invite.

Theodore in the hospital

2011-07-05T16:11:00.004-06:00

So, the guy's surgery to get his tonsils and adenoids out as well as to get ear tubes inserted went fine, all things considered. He is still hurting, but it is slowly getting better, and as long as we keep a little medicine in his system, he is fully active and has been for a the last week. He does hate that medicine though.

Before he went in, they gave him some drugs to calm him down and start prepping for the pain. We kind of wished we hadn't given these to him, seeing as we would have to give him later on, but it did make him hilariously tipsy. Also, he spit some up on his shirt. Also, Cait looks hot, am I right?

The surgery was super short, although they kept him back away from us for a while after it was finished, which sucked. He came out super upset and would remain various levels of upset throughout the day. It took a while for him to eat, but eventually he got feeling better and with generous helpings of PBS Kids and the IPad and being walked around the halls, he made it through. The nurses were really great and flexible as we tried to find ways to sooth him. They let us take him off the monitors often, which was nice. Here's some shots of him in the crib when he was feeling better than usual. (which he really wanted to stay in, unlike all other cribs in his life).

The Last of the Long Hair (but that is for another post)

Going under the knife

2011-06-21T21:48:00.000-06:00

Currently, I am filling out a slew of paperwork for pre-registration at UVRMC (I had to pick a password for the website and this is what it told me: "Your password may not contain a word that is found in the dictionary" -- uhhhh, seriously?) Oh, and yep, that's right, we are officially set with the surgery, on Thursday. Tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, myrignotomy. That's tonsils out, adenoids out, ear tubes in. While I'm not looking forward to having my little baby go under again, it'll be nice that the poor child will finally get some relief. Last week, we took him into the ENT again, who took one look at his ears, and said "yup, schedule the surgery, asap." They were so full of fluid and infected the ear drum was bulging. Not a fun site. The doctor said if my ears looked like that I'd be curled in a ball writhing in pain. I had no idea Theodore even had an ear infection, as he had just finished a round of antibiotics a week before and was not acting terribly out of the ordinary. Who knows how many times last winter he had a horrible double ear infection but I didn't take him in because I'm hesitant to go and have them tell me it's viral and I'm paranoid?

That's the news around these parts. Also, I'm not pregnant, thanks for asking. It's pretty amazing to me that I'm not though... we've had unprotected sex TWICE. That is two times as many times as it took to get pregnant with the guy.

Provo City Half Marathon

2011-06-10T13:57:00.000-06:00

This was my first half marathon and it went pretty well. I hurt my foot in a race about a month before this one, and so I took it easy at the beginning to make sure my foot was going to be okay. It was and I was able to pick up the pace steadily throughout the race. I started out at around 8 minute miles and by slowly increasing my speed ended at 7 minute miles. The course was a nice run out to Utah Lake and back and the organizers (run13) made it enjoyable with food and a bouncy tent for Theodore. Here's some videos of the finish and post race commentary.

Happy Mother's Day to me

2011-06-06T09:04:00.007-06:00

I know it's Father's Day, but we're a little behind. Besides, Tim is one lucky father to have these ridiculously attractive individuals as his family:

Yes, those are our garments on the line. Whatever.

I love this kid.

Bleh health care

2011-06-04T09:03:00.000-06:00

We got the results back from Theodore's sleep study we did last week, and the results are not looking good. I called the ENT and he told us we'll are going to need to remove his tonsils and adenoids, but not until we figure out if he's going to need tubes in his ears as well. At our last appointment, he has to have confirmed fluid in the ears for 6 months before they decide to do tubes. And because it took us two months to get an appointment with him, the count-down starts from our first appointment, even though the pediatrician has been noting fluid in his ears at least all winter, and probably it was from birth. Rather than speed things up, we are waiting, all the while his speech development is becoming more and more delayed (he only says one word: "ball" at 21 months). It's really frustrating because if we're going to do it, why not JUST DO IT!? Poor kid is pretty miserable, sick all the time (yet another ear infection this week), sleeps horribly because of the sleep apnea, and can't hear correctly! When I called the ENT to ask if we could speed things up, he didn't talk to me, just told the nurse to tell me: "he's the physician and he says so."

I would get a second opinion, but all the clinics take at least two months to get an appointment for a new patient. And we think our health care is SOOOO efficient and SOOOO quick and OH GOD, let's not go to socialized medicine because we'll have to WAIT MONTHS FOR AN APPOINTMENT! Well, newsflash: our system is already inefficient, not cost-effective, AND I'm waiting months for an appointment. At least it's technically free for us.

The beach!!

2011-06-04T08:56:00.000-06:00

All spring I've been complaining about not having access to a beach to play on. My greatest childhood vacation memories are staying at beach houses, slathering on the sunscreen, and spending hours splashing in the waves with my wet, salted hairs blowing in the breeze. I kept telling Tim we just HAD to go to southern California sometime this summer for at least a week so we could play on the beach because I've spent way too many summers without one.

Tim took me to the next best alternative:

We call this "extreme Kindling"

I have no idea this place even EXISTED. There. is. a. beach. in. Salt. Lake!! Like an hour away from where we live! And the water was actually really warm, despite it being a very windy and slightly chilly day. Sure, there's tons of pollution, the water looks a little sketchy, there are biting gnats that attached Theodore's head, and apparently it smells horrible when it gets hot in the summer. But hey, it's close and will be sufficient for my needs. And despite the photos, Theodore loved it.

Triathlons and tuberculosis

2011-05-25T23:03:00.000-06:00

I do apologize for the lack of blogging lately. I've been busy, you know... living my life. I find that I have a million and six things I want to blog about and zero motivation to actually sit down and type. Work is busy and my house is continuously messy still and there is the garden to weed and water and Microbiology to study for (deadline is in three weeks... yeah... about that) and lots of friends to play with and hours of yoga/running/biking/swimming to throw in the mix and pregnancies to prevent and homemade granola to be made. I've been exercising a lot lately and it feels so yummy to my body, she just loves it. I also decided a few weeks ago that I'm going to train for and run/swim/bike in the Bear Lake Brawl Triathlon in August.

In other news, Theodore is wearing a pulse ox monitor tonight to test for sleep apnea. We'll see how annoyed he gets with something tied to his foot all night.

Also, I've decided to not waste the summer on pregnancy. Too much exciting stuff to do. I can wait another four months... if my ovaries cooperate.

Obligatory darling child pictures:

I went on a shopping spree at Baby Gap a few weeks ago and ended up with the loveliest clothes for the guy. I like picking out his stuff, and now that I'm not getting hand-me-downs it will become a necessity. PS: I got everything for under $5 each, cheaper than say DI.

I know he looks emaciated in this picture. He's just a skinny little thing.

Speaking of skinny and little, something funny about this picture is that the outfit was worn by Lauren's Benny when he was about seven months old, and Theodore can still wear it at 20 months old...

There is nothing about tuberculosis in this post, it's just the first 't' word that popped into my head when I was thinking of a title.

Classic Posts

2011-05-19T15:31:00.002-06:00

Check out our new "Classic Posts" links there on the right hand side. Review some of our faves. Recommendations for other classic posts are welcome.

Three Mockingjays of Deceit

2011-05-19T13:40:00.001-06:00

I usually save my book reviews for the toolbar on the right side of the blog. But I think these reviews deserve a place on the blog because of their general interest factor.

Mockingjay

Lots of my friends have read Mockingjay and long before I did, so I thought I would add my voice. Hopefully not really any spoilers here. I enjoyed this book plenty. Collins writes some great action scenes and keeps the book moving. One of the things she is absolutely great at is ending chapters in a way that keeps one reading. Her characters also have a surprising amount of depth, especially for an action book. Katniss (a name I never liked, one of the few reasons I was glad this book was in the first person) and Haymitch (a slightly better name) were certainly the best, although other characters had their moments. I was especially pleased that Katniss had to continually confront the deaths that she caused.

Collins always was good at keeping the reader guessing who was on the good side. Rebels against the bad guys are almost always good, but there is plenty of question in this book. Gale's Bush-like willingness to justify his actions based on the actions of others was an especially meaningful dilemma. I think she also did

I didn't really like the authors need to shock the reader by writing so gruesomely in what otherwise is a book for children. I understand the need to emphasize the cruelty of the capitol, but there are less graphic ways of doing that.

The first person present tense was constantly distracting and added nothing to the book. Third-person past tense is good enough for 99% of the great books in history, it's good enough for you Suzanne.

The ending, like for many others, leaved me with mixed feelings, but that was kind of the idea I suppose. I wasn't really upset by how the relationship issues were resolved, because I never got involved in the relationship from the beginning. That's it.

Three Cups of Deceit

Investigative journalism certainly has its place. But I can't help wishing this book it had been more objective. I think that if your going to try to show all the crappy stuff someone like Mortenson has done, you should spend a good amount of time talking about the good he's done. Krakauer definitely wants us to see things his way and doesn't try to hide it. There's no, okay here's all the people he's helped and here's all the people he scammed, now you make the decision if he's a bad guy or not. The book is short, so maybe that justifies only telling one side some, but not enough. I want to see someone report the facts a lot better, a lot fairer, then I'll make up my mind what to think.

I think you can always make a lot of money taking down people's heroes, but does it really leave the world a better place? All NGO's exaggerate their success, most charities give way too much money to the people running them, all corporations have mythical founding stories. I'm not donating any money to the guy, for sure. I don't donate money to any charity that can't convince me it is transparent and accountable. But I'm not willing to sign off on him as a terrible guy just yet. When I get a more balanced look at the story, I'll make up my mind.

Times like these are why I became a mother

2011-05-19T11:35:00.000-06:00

Two illnesses, 1 million poopy diapers, two incidences of poop all over the floor/clothes/bed, one very dirty house, three days of non-stop icy cold rain in the middle of May, three serious cases of cabin fever = our week.

Let me elaborate: this week has been yuck. There are no other words to describe it. It's been cold, rainy, glum outside, and inside has been messy and I've been lazy and sick. Theodore got a particularly nasty cold followed by a round of bowel movements I'd rather not discuss. It's been like non-stop nasty poop around these parts for the past few days, including one time when he pooped all over his clothes, and another time when I left him diaper-less for 2 minutes to go rinse out another poopy diaper and he pooped and peed all over the floor (I sang him praises for getting off our new mattress first). Then, this morning there was another poop incidence, but luckily we were on his bed that time. Conveniently, this always seems to happen when Tim leaves for half an hour or so. Also, the diaper rash that accompanied this fun few days was the most intense one I've seen yet, all up and down his legs even. It was severe. I've been trying to work out if it could perhaps be an allergy, but I'm thinking we're just all sick. And I've been trying to let him go diaperless to air it out but that's very risky business.

And our house is a disaster. It's been pretty constantly messy ever since I started working and Tim staying home, and lest you think Tim is a poor housekeeper let me explain: when I'm at home and Tim is gone, he always comes home and cleans at night or in the mornings. However, when I'm gone all day and Tim is taking care of the guy all day, I don't come home and speed clean like he does. We're still working on figuring it out.

And I want another baby -- PSHT.

Not this week.

Ron Paul

2011-05-18T11:07:00.001-06:00

My good friend Casey has invited me to reconsider my feelings for Ron Paul. I have, actually, always liked Ron Paul. He's honest, tenacious, principled and possesing of great integrity, at least as far as I can tell. However, like many in the "mainstream media" and many Americans in general I've dismissed him as an "also ran," too far out on the political spectrum to have any hope of getting elected. However, as the political spectrum has shifted recently more to the side of Sen. Paul, it has become apparent that he has been dismissed a little too easily for how good his chances might be this election.

So, after thinking for aproximately 5 hours solely about Ron Paul, here are some thoughts (largely a response to this article which states Ron Paul's plans once he is president):

Pros:
Ron Paul has a very clear idea of what he would do as President, and were he to become President I would expect him to be pretty dogged in trying to accomplish these goals, and a lot less "flip-floppy" than probably any President in history.

He would start (maybe after cutting Presidential dicretionary spending) his cutting of America's budget with the military, which is where I would almost certainly start. The military of the US has shifted from protecting us to largely strong arming a largely colonialistic foreign policy. It needs massively reduced.

He would almost certainly balance the budget by being willing to cut more than any other candidate out there today (there's also some cons here).

He would be fairly practical, it seems, in weening America off of entitlements, rather than massively cutting them. He would cut military spending and corporate tax breaks first and then work on entitlements (pretty much the reverse of Paul Ryan, except they would both go after discretionary funding first).

He would willfuly reduce the power of his own executive branch and bring the balance of powers back into balance.

He would localize government by giving back power to states.

Although he doesn't state it here, he would most likely get the federal government out of the anti-narcotics businees, into which we are dumping way too much money for too few results.

Cons:
First big one is his harping on the idea of "liberty." I think a healthy dose of liberty (by what I think is Sen. Paul's deinition) is good for any democracy, of course, but I don't see it as the main goal of the government as Sen. Paul seems to. I want "quality of life" results, which are a lot more messy, I know, than "liberty" results. The US, for being a highly developed country, has a larger amount of liberty by almost any definition I can think of, but ranks near the bottom of most "quality of life" indicators that I know of. Maybe a more generalized liberty will make a difference, but I want a rationlist argument for why that will happen, rather than having "liberty" be the ends rather than the means.

Ron Paul falls into the distrous trend of idealizing the founding fathers. "The founding fathers intended" is a phrase I would be happy never to hear again. Even if we had a perfectly clear and unified idea of what the collective founding fathers intended (which we never will, because it doesn't exist), basing the direction of our country off a the intentions of men of a substantially different time would still be a terrible mistake. I'm all for the constitution and enforcing its laws precepts and the laws that result therefrom fully and indiscriminately, but don't pretend it has some mystical power to guide every action and isn't up for modern interpretation.

Those two basically sum up the cons. I think a determined pursuit of "liberty" or of some "constitutional ideal" no matter how pure their form, is not a good basis for government and that I would be deeply opposed to some of the practical results of that philosophy.

Still, Ron Paul is one of my top three candidates for President, after Barack Obama (who I like because he does what I would do) and before John Huntsman (who I like because he is a desperatly needed moderate voice, in a Republican Party full of angry populists). Maybe someday, I'll see the libertarian light, but for now, I'm still sticking with my lukewarm socialism and continue wishing that the US was little more like Sweden.

A not-so-usual post

2011-05-15T20:46:00.000-06:00

My cousin Shay is trying to adopt a little girl, and recently was contacted by a birth mom (who is pregnant with a boy) who is looking for a specific type of family and asked if I would put something on my blog to see if anyone out there knew of someone looking to adopt. Here's the information (I was going to re-write it but figured Shay knew the situation better so might as well use her words):

"I was contacted by a birth mom, who is pregnant with a boy, and is looking for a specific type of adoptive family. She wants a family with a year supply (or a plan to get it- because it shows a desire to follow the prophet and be prepared) and she wants them to eat few processed foods and have an interest in alternative medicines. Not necessarily vegan/granola but more healthy and open minded and educated health wise than the general population. I know you aren't looking to adopt, but since the description sounds like you I wondered if you had any friends or knew of someone who fit the description... She's due in a month and a half so she's feeling a bit pressed for time."

If you know of anyone who fits the description and is seeking to adopt, they can e-mail Shay at anothertolove@gmail.com.

A visit to the ENT

2011-05-07T20:57:00.000-06:00

Friday we had a visit to the ENT for Theodore. For a whopping $207 visit, he talked to us for maybe 7 minutes to say: 1) he has fluid in his ears; 2) we wait 6 months to see if it goes away; 3) then we do surgery; 4) we probably won't take his adenoids out unless he can't breathe at all (which obviously he can, since he's still alive).

Come back in 6 weeks, we'll charge you another couple hundred bucks to tell you to wait another 4.5 months!

I love the medical profession.

Conception Progression

2011-05-07T20:54:00.000-06:00

Step 1: Remove IUD

Check!

Corporate tax refunds

2011-05-04T13:31:00.000-06:00

I don't feel bad about using Medicaid and food stamps.

It's a party by BYUSA

2011-05-03T20:43:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we headed up to campus for a finals week extravaganza in Brigham Square. We really went for the free J-Dawgs, but ended up not even getting any because there was a really long line.

On the way up, we stopped at the duck pond:

Waving bye to the duck that got away

When we arrived at Brigham Square, the party hadn't started yet so they let Theodore play in the bounce house for half an hour:

I took a turn at the trampoline-thingy:

The statue children hit him on the head:

On the way back, we let him wade into the unsanitary water:

Family photo:

A bump in the night

2011-05-02T18:28:00.001-06:00

We've been trying to convince Theodore that sleeping in his crib all night is a stellar idea, but so far, no luck. He screams, he kicks, he rants and raves. He doesn't need to nurse, doesn't need to be rocked/coddled/held, he just needs us in the room with him. Last night, we were letting him scream because my friends swore it only took a few days and he'd figure it out (this was day 2)... Tim and I were laying slightly comatose and I was struggling to get my bearings and go in there and comfort him when we heard footsteps and the door hinge squeek. We both jumped up and I honestly thought someone was there... I've never felt so instantly frightened and freaked out in my life at the thought of someone in our house. But nope, it was just the guy, who had managed to stack his blankets up and climb out of the crib and walk to the door. Tim said he had heard a "thump" but merely thought it was him rolling over into the side of the bed.

Time for a real bed... onward!

Osama

2011-05-02T11:51:00.002-06:00

I thought an appropriate return from my blogging hiatus would be to talk about the death of Osama bin Laden while I am still processing it and hopefully before our readers get to sick of hearing about it.

First off, I think that his death leaves the world better off than it was before. I think most of the world agrees that his death is a good thing and I feel compelled to agree. When I first heard the news, I was excited, much more excited than I thought I would be. I mean, I figured it had to happen eventually, but it still felt like a surprise. I also felt good for President Obama, who I think has had a very difficult time holding firm in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a lot harder time than President Bush did going in. I feel this. I also felt good for America, that feeling of, we did what we set out to do, even though there are plenty of terrorists left and I don't expect us to ever kill them all. What this does is show the middle east that we are able to carry through. Most people over there would rather not have Osama around and I think most of them accepted that we would send troops to try to get rid of him and his followers. It shows that we weren't just there to occupy their land. And I think, at a basic level, bin Laden was actively doing things to threaten US citizens in a very serious way and removing that threat makes us all that much safer. Addition: I do feel compelled to say that we do have some responsibility for creating this threat, both in having espoused an overly aggressive military policy in the Middle East for a long time and specifically in funding the early incarnations of Al Qaeda to fight the Soviets. Funding the Mujahedeen, even if it made sense at the time, has really come back to hurt us. We should be very careful about which freedom fighters we support. End Addition So overall, very good thing.

I do however, feel bad about having been so celebratory over the death of any other human being, even one as evil as Osama. I know it might sound trite, but I think it is something serious to consider: would Jesus be out in front of the white house chanting "USA" because we killed one of our brothers? I think the war in Afghanistan has been necessary, but I think any death should be treated with more remorse. I don't really fault anyone, though, because I understand the sentiment, for sure. I just feel bad that I couldn't have behaved better myself in those first moments of excitement.

Thoughts?

Edit: One of the most compelling contrarion articles. Osama knew he would probably die for attacking the US, and had some things to gain before that happened. He got a lot of them.

Back to work

2011-04-29T13:48:00.000-06:00

This week was my first week back to work at a new job. Yet another job! But this is one is so legit and perfect for me it's not even funny. I get to talk to women all day about... breastfeeding... and get paid. I know I've already told most everyone and blogged about it but it's too cool to not talk about again. The next few weeks I get to train under an experienced lactation specialist, and oh woman, is there a lot to learn still! I thought I knew a lot about breastfeeding, but wow, there is still so much to learn. I learned so many neat tricks about increasing milk supply, latching on, dealing with mastitis and thrush. I can hardly handle all of the interesting information that's coming into my brain. Besides getting to answer questions and offer advice on breastfeeding, I also get to play with $2500 hospital-grade pumps... put them together, take them apart, clean them, issue them. AND if I have another baby while I work there, I get to borrow one for a year! Medela Symphonys are beautiful objects. WIC also just started a program where they issue double electric pumps (Medela Pump-n-Styles/Ameda Purely Yours) for free (to keep forever) to moms that are going back to work/school and sign a release to not receive infant formula. Isn't that amazing?? I love my place of work.

Not only am I liking my job, Tim is loving staying at home (he told me). If only the weather would get a little warmer... but nonetheless, he looks very sexy in stay-at-home dad clothes and even bought himself some new grey skinny jeans a few days ago.

Tim also made the most yummy lasagna last night for dinner. He cooks, he cleans, he takes care of the little one (and he's very attractive)! What's not to love about this man?

In Theodore news, he has a double ear infection (it's very mild) and gets to take antibiotics for the first time. You better bet we'll be dosing up ourselves on the probiotics to avoid thrush -- I talked to enough moms this week about "stabbing, burning pain" to want to avoid it myself.

Oh, and he failed his hearing test this week, but it MIGHT have been due to the fluid in his ear from being sick. So.... we get to do another one when he's better! Fourth time's a charm, I suppose. We have an appointment with an ENT next week anyways for his tonsils/adenoids so we'll just throw checking his ears into the mix as well.

Annnndddd.... an anecdote to accompany the updates: I'm a terribly unprepared mother who never brings diapers/wipes/snacks/books anywhere because I always forget to throw it in my bag. Today, Theo pooped at the doctor's office and I had nothing. So... I borrowed a much too large disposable diaper and changed him in the bathroom but didn't have anywhere to put the cloth one.... so I just threw it away. It was only a prefold, thank goodness, but I still felt bad about it. Luckily these particular prefolds only cost about 75 cents so I wasn't out too much money.

Remembering Briana

2011-04-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, I read about the death of Briana Blackwelder and for not knowing her that well, it's deeply affected me.

I "met" Briana only via phone and email, for the few months we were in DC. After weeks and months of deliberation and lots of research, Tim and I decided to have a home birth with Theodore. I think I talked to about every single midwife in the area before I found Briana through my dear friend (and doula), Analiesa. Even though we were communicating about my birth from across the country, I felt like we really clicked. She not only was willing to attend my birth at the last minute, since we would presumably be getting back into town a month before my due date, but she also was willing to attend my birth at a substantially lower cost than what she usually charged when I mentioned that we were stretched tight with money. Even though we didn't end up having her as our midwife for the planned home birth, she still corresponded with me through the pre-term labor mess and the flying back to Utah and was really, genuinely concerned about my well-being along with the well-being of my baby. And she never even officially had an appointment with me! Ever since we ended up birthing in the hospital, I always regretted the missed opportunity for the home birth with Briana, and had been planning on seeking her out in the future for my next birth. Even though I did not even know her very well, I mourn the loss of such a beautiful, talented, and genuine woman who cared deeply about her calling in life as a midwife.

Our last interaction was a few weeks after Theodore was born, she e-mailed me to ask me how everything ended up going. And you know what? With everything going on, I completely spaced ever e-mailing her back and letting her know. I thought about it several times since but just never got around to responding. I doubt she ever had a second thought about it, but now that she's gone, it is one of those things I'll deeply regret until the memory fades with time.

I love this beautiful tribute from her close friend. It puts into words my feelings not only on death, but on life thereafter.

Some of my deeper thoughts

2011-04-25T21:31:00.000-06:00

Do you ever have deep thoughts that come into your brain and you can't seem to figure them out in your head and they drive you crazy?? Oh... only me? Hm.

In the LDS Church, we have a firm belief that we are children of Heavenly Parents... not just beings created by a sole male deity, but the offspring of a Father and a Mother who are deeply involved in our earthly existence and who together form our concept of "God". We are taught that in order to respect our Mother, we must not discuss her existence or pray to her (though according to a new scholarly article in BYU Studies, we have never been told by a general authority to not speak of her, we've just been told not to pray to her... but sometimes I do anyway). Despite her being largely invisible in the everyday proceedings of the Church, I've always felt a strong conviction of this doctrine... that there isn't a single male deity but rather gods and goddesses working together bringing forth life not terribly unlike the world as we see it.

I was doing some light doctrinal reading about Heavenly Mother the other day when the thought occurred to me: why do we only consider Heavenly Father the literal parent of the Savior? Heavenly Mother is not the literal parent of Jesus Christ, as Mary was the vector. With all the talk of Heavenly Father... I wonder if Heavenly Mother ever looks down on us and feels forgotten or belittled. Can you imagine if you had a whole brood of children who only ever wanted to talk to their father on the phone every night?

And if Mary is a daughter of Heavenly Parents, wouldn't the conception of Jesus technically be considered incest?

I'm not trying to be offensive here, just had some thoughts. Anyone have any ideas?

Pictures

2011-04-25T10:57:00.000-06:00

Hiking atop Mom's back in Zion's

Walking around Zion's

We are legit

Resting, the hike at Bryce was pretty steep

Zion's: How can a desert be so GREEN?

Playing in the dirt, his favorite thing

Bryce Canyon

Bryce Canyon, Zion's, Coral Pink Sand Dunes

2011-04-24T16:43:00.000-06:00

What a weekend trip! We went camping with all of Tim's immediate family, and we had a really enjoyable time. It was nice weather for the most part, Theodore loved every minute (except maybe the last hour or two of the drive home, but I definitely can't blame him, we were all exhausted), and I left feeling renewed and refreshed. We left early Friday morning and drove down to Bryce Canyon.... it was a LONG drive but we made it and hiked the afternoon away. It was pleasant, and Theodore loved being in the great outdoors. He still enjoys the baby backpack and viewing the world from atop Dad's back. After hiking for a few hours there, we drove to where we were originally supposed to spend the night, and it was far from ideal. It was a gravel RV park right off a main highway, and our spot was right beside the road and the bathrooms, with no place to pitch the tent. I was super nervous because cars were zipping past at 60 miles per hour, so I voiced my concerns and was sent to go scout out a new spot. Since it was the first nice weekend plus no more school plus Easter weekend, Zion's was crowded and all the campsites were taken, but we found an amazing little spot out near Coral Pink Sand Dunes. It was off the main roads, there was plenty of space for the camper and tents, there was a nice grill and fire pit and benches, and it was only $5 for the night, one of the cheapest camping rates I've seen!

We set up camp, roasted hot dogs and S'mores, Theodore played forever with Grandma and Grandpa in the camper until way past his bedtime, then we hunkered down for a very cold night. Everyone slept in the camper but we opted to sleep in our tent because there wasn't really enough room for us and I didn't want Theodore to keep everyone else up all night. We were freezing at the start but had tons of blankets and actually slept decently for the second half of the night. On top of being in a tent and being cold, Theodore was also a little bit on the sick side so he wanted to nurse a lot and we had to keep repositioning him to help him breathe. But, it wasn't terrible and I'm looking forward to camping again sometime in the near future.

The next day we were up well before everyone else and played in the van until we heard stirrings from the camper. We ate pancakes and eggs and bacon for breakfast, then the kids headed to Zion's for the day. We drove through some striking canyons -- the scenery was breath-taking. We did a fairly rigorous hike with some pretty steep drop-offs, but Theodore wanted to walk a lot of the way so we held his hands and somehow made it (well, not to the top because we were going very slow, but a good way up). We found a sandy spot near the river and played for a good long while before hopping on the shuttle bus and checking out an Earth Day celebration in town. I took advantage of a free massage booth while Tim and the guy ran around. We were picked up by Tim's siblings and started out on our long journey to the next campsite up north. On the way there, we checked the weather report and it was going to be even colder, and potentially snowy, so we opted to just head all the way home rather than stop for the night. I was bummed since we had already made a long drive, but I think it was a good decision since Theodore was still sounding pretty awful. We made it home safely, and after a long bath, all three of us collapsed into our beds.

Since it was only our second time camping, and only our first time for-real camping not in someone's backyard, I would gauge it a huge success. I know the weather will only continue to get warmer, and we'll only continue to enjoy the outdoors more and more. We're even thinking of taking a multi-day backpacking trip sometime this summer... anyone want to come with us?

PS. There are like a billion pictures c/o Tim's photographer sister but I have no access to them yet. Will post sometime.

My guy

2011-04-17T19:05:00.000-06:00

What a pleasant child with whom to hang out...

He is 19 months old now... and just delightful. He doesn't talk much still, and speech therapy starts on Tuesday. He does say "dada" and "mama" and "diggum" on a regular basis. "Diggum" means anything he likes or wants, usually milk or food or toys. Today during the Sacrament at Church, he was pointing wildly at the tray of breading shouting: "Dilgum, dingum, diggum." It is SO cute I can hardly stand it.

He loves playing with other kids, recently Alice and Hazel and Eliza. When we go to the park, he is obsessed with the swings and can climb up the stairs and slide down the slide sans supervision. He also met Jimmer and Jackson last week at the park, AND got to hang out with the Divine Comedy crowd at a party yesterday. He is slightly obsessed with Mallory... and totally stared her down when she walked in the room. I think he recognized her from the Provo UT Girls video.

Thankfully his appetite is still picking up, and he's nursing less and less. He loves strawberries to the point I have to hide them in the back of the fridge or else it would be the only thing he ate at every meal. He also is a fan of quesadillas, any cheese but Swiss, green smoothies, chips and salsa, raw tofu, carrots, homemade pizza, and any kind of pasta (and whipped cream, as we discovered last night at a dinner party).

He loves our new bathtub, his Matchbox cars from Tim's childhood, playing outside and digging up the garden, and being naked. He loves long bike rides and car rides, especially now that he has a plush Britax car seat to ride in. He loves playing at the park, mall, and IKEA.

The Mediocrity in Mothering series

2011-04-09T15:18:00.000-06:00

Before I was a mom.... my kid wouldn't be quite so dirty... and he would sleep in a bed and not fall off the couch during his nap.

This is Mompetition's "before I was a mom" series; I submitted this picture and it was published. I also like to call this the "mediocrity in mothering" series.

The Case of the Missing Check

2011-04-09T14:34:00.000-06:00

Last year when we moved to Egypt, our stupid management company didn't give us back any of our deposit because they decided to keep: $100 move-out early fee, $100 carpet cleaning fee, and $50 late rent fee (?!) I was pretty annoyed, but knew that we would get back $50 for finding someone to live in our apartment. When the robotic woman at TPM refused to give me the $50 for a variety of reasons (she included: 1) there was a different name on the form than I was telling her in the email, 2) it was no longer policy to give the $50 incentive to find someone to live in your own apartment, 3) the employee who promised me the money no longer worked there... etc. etc.)

Anyways, finally, a few weeks ago I emailed her something to the effect of: "I expect a check for $50 in my name to be on the front desk by the end of the week" and VOILA! It was!

And then we moved and I LOST IT. And it's not just $50, it's the PRINCIPLE! I won the battle, but it seems I've lost the war unless I find this stupid check and deposit it. I've searched high and low in this new house and it's NOWHERE. TO. BE. FOUND.

I am so frustrated beyond belief even though this is so not that big of a deal.

Wow. As I was writing this post, I found the check under a book on our computer desk. A book that Tim had apparently already looked under and in and beyond.

Our house

2011-04-05T12:01:00.000-06:00

I'm in love. With the light, the space, the painted walls, the backyard, the kitchen! Oh, the kitchen.

It's all so, so glorious, and definitely worth the extra money.

One day, we'll be settled, I'll take pictures and post them.

Sorry about the lack of blogging, we have sporadic free internet but haven't signed up for anything yet. Based on Celia and Becca's hatred of Comcast, we'll probably go with Qwest.

For now, I leave you with this bit of happiness:

Our new blender. Mmmmm. Too bad it's been too cold for smoothies and spinach ice cream.

Alright, Theodore is drawing on the walls, gotta run!

'Thon Thursday

2011-03-31T19:31:00.002-06:00

We're still moving into the new apartment (which we'll blog about soon) and I have a paper to finish (which I most likely wont blog about), but consistency in training is key, right? So my feet started feeling better by the end of last week. There was a 5k on Saturday that was supposed to be really fast so I wanted to run it for a post-HS PR, but the snow Friday changed that, since the run was up in the trails of Provo canyon. The first mile was super snowy and windy, the second had a stretch of switchbacks that were iced over and had to be slid down and so it wasn't until the last 1.5 miles on the Provo River trail that I could really get up to speed (and even that was icy enough to make me run carefully). My goal was to go out fast so that as few people would pack the snow and make it slippery in front of me. So I started really fast and got in first and stayed in first 'til the end of the race. Some people bunched up behind me on the downhill because my 5 Fingers didn't have as much tread as their sneakers, but besides that I was able to stay out in front pretty good. Everyone asked about the 5 Fingers, which worked great, even in the snow and we won something like $70 dollars in gift certificates as a prize for winning the race. So overall, it went great, even though they called the wrong name when they gave me the medal for winning. Here are the results.

This week has been fine. My heels have been a little sore as I've tried to run heavier in my 5 fingers. I have my longest run so far this weekend, at 20 miles, which I'll try to fit in before conference starts, but might cut into Saturday morning a bit.

My training schedule. You'll see that I'm considering doing 2 marathons now, including one in my hometown of Morgan. We'll see.

Iraq vs. Libya

2011-03-27T08:49:00.003-06:00

This video has been given a lot of play on the internets lately, I thought we might analyze it a little bit (no need to watch the whole thing to get the tenor of the piece):

Lets look at the policies, and leave off the character attacks:

1) A full scale military invasion and occupation of a country is completely different than bombing military targets. It is especially different when those military targets are being actively used to slaughter political dissenters. Saddam's mistreatment of his citizens to was used to justify removing him. Not much discussed was the fact that most of that military slaughter of his people (mostly Kurds) took place 10 years earlier when the US failed to militarily back a rebellion that they stirred up in the northern regions of Iraq. Libyans were being slaughtered now.

2) WMD's. When were WMD's ever used as a justification for this military operation (you can call it a war if you like, I don't think we're there)? They were certainly the main justification for the Iraq war. Maybe Bush didn't lie about believing there were WMD's in Iraq, but he certainly picked and chose his sources, ignoring the UN and US experts and basing most of his information on the reports of Ahmed Chalabi, who had little qualification to supply such information and who was most certainly lying out of political motivations, not only about WMD's but also Iraq's ties to al-Qaeda, which were also non-existent, but still used to justify a war.

3) The UN: The UN never signed off on an invasion into Iraq, no matter what the video implies. Sure, some allies went into Iraq, but they went in at the insistence of the US, not the larger international community. Sure, the security council doesn't speak for the whole world, but I am much more comfortable with that larger collection of countries undertaking policing actions than I am with the US taking it upon themselves to police, along with whoever they can convince to come along with them. What's that you've been saying for so long, the UN never does anything but just passes empty resolutions? Oh wait, they just did something.

Conclusion:

I'm not entirely comfortable with our actions in Libya. I don't think we used all the political options we could, but the active slaughter going on justifies some rush and distinctly separates the Libya intervention from the Iraqi I think the one legitimate criticism (along with blind followers of Obama) in the video is that European anxiety over oil in part drove this action (although letting Qaddafi win and return to selling oil would have resolved the crises much more rapidly), however, the security council has a majority of representation outside of Europe (though some of those abstained). What really upsets me is that the restrained military action towards Libya, intervening in an active government slaughter of rebels, is compared to the wholesale and misguided occupation of a foreign country. The comparison is ridiculous. A more apt comparison would be Desert Storm (although Libya invaded no foreign country, Libya had basically split along political lines when Qadaffi started advancing) or Rwanda, where lack of international intervention led to an unimpeded genocide. Are you really saying that we should try to pursue political options for a few more months before doing anything militarily about Libya? Or is this just another desperate attempt to justify the debacle that was the war in Iraq?

Speech therapy

2011-03-25T15:02:00.000-06:00

Our pediatrician has been a little worried about Theodore's speech development, and especially about his hearing since he failed the hearing test in the hospital and I totally forgot to go get it done again.

I wasn't terribly worried that he wouldn't turn out OK, but it's really hard to assess his progress myself when I only have super-smart girl toddlers to compare him too that speak in complete sentences at 18 months. I know boys talk later and are slower at these kinds of things, so I'm trying not to take it too personally. I figure that I read to him and he's around adult conversation a lot more than most toddlers... we play outside and go to the library for story time weekly. I'm exposing him to the world and he is soaking it all in, I can tell. He's just quiet, for now. He pretty much doesn't say any words... sometimes he says "mama" or "maaaaaa" which I think is milk.... but other than that we just get random sounds (he does consistently say "moooo" when we see a cow-type animal). He can sign about 10 words as well, so we're pretty confident he has the capability to learn more.

We had a speech therapist come to our home and evaluate him for the Provo Early Intervention Program, and from how he scored, he qualifies for speech therapy. Before I had a kid I didn't think I'd be in to this sort of thing as I'm trying to just accept him and let him progress at his own pace, but it's free and they come to my house so why not? Right? I figure it can't hurt and he seemed to enjoy playing with the little games the speech therapist brought last time. Plus, she was really nice AND a vegetarian. I can't imagine what you really do for speech therapy for a toddler that doesn't even really sit still... it'll be interesting to watch.